


A Special Holiday Connection

by AlexxAplin, heartstarmagick



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Bottom Eliot Waugh, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Like woah they bang, M/M, Past Character Death, Quentin is a Widower, Teddy Coldwater plays matchmaker, holiday magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:42:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21884695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexxAplin/pseuds/AlexxAplin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartstarmagick/pseuds/heartstarmagick
Summary: Quentin Coldwater is the widowed father of Teddy Coldwater, who comes to pick up his son from a flight back from Seattle, where Teddy was visiting his grandfather. Teddy is being escorted by Eliot Waugh, a jet-setting flight attendant a few hours away from a vacation in Hawaii. After this chance encounter, Teddy invites Eliot to spend the few hours before his own flight to Hawaii, with them. What follows is proof that sometimes the unexpected can lead to beautiful, life-changing results.
Relationships: Margo Hanson & Josh Hoberman, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh, Quentin Coldwater/William "Penny" Adiyodi (referenced)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 47
Collections: Magicians Hallmark Holiday Extravaganza





	1. In Flight Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I want to thank Silver (Heartstarmagick here on AO3) for putting up with my crazy ideas and waffling back and forth on things. 
> 
> Also go check out - [https://kazhig-pm.tumblr.com/](%E2%80%9Curl%E2%80%9D) \- who did the lovely art for this! 
> 
> (Also smut kinda sneaks its way in after a few chapters, I couldn't resist. OUR BOYS NEEDED HOLIDAY ORGASMS!) 
> 
> Also thanks to the admins for putting this all together :D 
> 
> [Chapter 1 features Teddy and Eliot bonding. I absolutely loved building Teddy's character up!]

A few days before Christmas, Teddy Coldwater was flying home to Manhattan after a visit to his grandfather's house all the way across the country in Seattle. Luckily he was not alone, as it would be very improper for a 10 year old to be unaccompanied. His attendant was none other than Eliot Waugh, a Seattle resident who was eager to get to his own vacation. Little did he know that the spirits of the holidays had their own ideas.

Teddy was a polite kid, didn't make much noise, and was perfectly content to read a book during the flight. When Eliot came to check on him, he smiled warmly. "Hi!" he beamed. His positivity seemed to radiate off of him. It was a nice reprieve from the usual loud, obnoxious kids that Eliot dealt with on a regular basis.

"Hi, sweetie," Eliot smiled, the warmth coming off of little Teddy in waves. When he first heard that he had to accompany a minor on his last flight before his vacation to Hawaii, he was a little bit frustrated--he knew that children were sometimes a handful and hoped he'd have an easy, standard shift but it was turning out to be much better than anticipated; Teddy was a little angel and cute as a button too.

He slid into the unoccupied seat next to Teddy's, "How're we doing over here, you need more apple juice? I can get you some more cookies too if you need a snack."

Teddy smiled at Eliot. The man was nice, and even though he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, it was different in this case. "I'm okay, I think if I drink too much then I'll wind up having to use the bathroom, and there's a guy that has been in there a while. I hope he's not sick or anything." Teddy admitted with a smile, sipping his apple juice carefully so he wouldn't be thirsty, but also so he wouldn't have to go too bad.

"He should be okay, we have other bathrooms in the front though too, so don't worry," Eliot said, shrugging. Some passengers took forever in there; he'd learned long ago it was just a fact of life.

"You could stay a while though, if you want? I was just reading the second Fillory book. I think magic is so cool!" Teddy beamed, just glad to have some company for a bit. He was a social kid, but as an only child he spent a lot of time alone, so the company was welcome.

"I'd like to. I have a few breaks on this flight and it can get crowded in the back with the other flight attendants, you know how it is." Eliot had learned long ago that treating children like they were closer to adults got a lot more mileage than babytalk--of course Teddy didn't know how it was but letting them be part of something made it so much easier to garner what they actually needed, rather than using the condescending tone his colleagues often tried on kids this age.

Eliot hummed softly after a beat, "Fillory, eh? I remember reading those, I loved them. What's your favorite part about Fillory?"

Teddy thought for a moment. "Well, I really like the talking animals, I think that's my favorite honestly. I mean, all the magical creatures of Fillory are cool. Even the scary ones, I mean, if I saw one I'd run away, but its still awesome!" He gushed a bit more about it, even flipping to a page that had one of his favorite scenes so far.

"Oh, the talking animals were great, I remember being really into that too. Sometimes I wish they could talk in real life, it'd definitely make taking care of pets easier." Eliot smiled, "I'd hope that you didn't run into anything scary, especially if they could talk."

"What about you? What's your favorite part about Fillory?" Teddy asked after a few more minutes of him gushing over the books.

Eliot thought on it a moment, humming. "I think my favorite part about Fillory is that...no one feels unwanted there."

Teddy nodded, putting his small hand on Eliot's arm. The ten year old tried to figure out what to say for a moment before he just opted to hug Eliot gently. "You're not unwanted," he answered. "Even if we're not in Fillory. My dad says that everyone has someone that needs them. Maybe you just haven't met that person yet?" He smiled up at Eliot before he pulled back a little. "Sorry, Dad says I should be more respectful of personal space sometimes."

The fact that Teddy tried to comfort him alone was enough to make him feel better--he didn't expect that from anyone, let alone a kid. Eliot smiled again, shaking his head and gently patting Teddy on the back, "I really appreciate you saying that. And thank you for the hug. I'm okay, I...I have a friend I'm meeting up with later, she's kinda like my sister, and we need each other," he smiled, hugging Teddy again gently, "You don't have to worry about me though--you know, you have to be very strong to take the test to be a flight attendant, and you know I passed with flying colors, right?"

"You did? Well that makes sense. I feel safe around you, so you must be very strong." Teddy nodded firmly, resolute in his theory.

"Making everyone feel safe is the most important part of my job," he smiled, ruffling Teddy's hair gently.

"Your friend sounds cool too, are you spending the holiday with her?" He asked, having closed the book to talk to Eliot for a while. He thought about his dad, wishing that his dad had a friend to spend the holidays with. Teddy knew he was lonely, and sometimes he wasn't enough to make his sadness go away.

Eliot smiled brightly thinking on his holiday plans with bff Margo, knowing a week of high end liquor and debauchery was less than a day away. Obviously he wasn't about to say that to Teddy though. "Yes, we're meeting in Hawaii. I've never been…well, not outside the airport. So we're going to see the islands and dance and go swimming."

Teddy beamed at that, "Really? That sounds super fun. I want to see the world when I grow up. My dad works hard, so we don't have time to go on vacation really, but we're spending the holidays doing our favorite traditions, so that's exciting!" He grinned, "Do you like traveling?"

That made Eliot smile all the more, nodding, "It can be hard to get away sometimes. It's wonderful that you all are doing something special for the holidays." He thought on the question a moment, nodding happily, "I do, I really love traveling. Seeing the world, meeting new people--I might have the best job in the world. It can be tiring though, time differences and all. But I always have fun. How about you, did you like Seattle?"

"I did! Seattle was super fun. My grandpa showed me around a lot." Teddy grinned, before showing Eliot a small wrapped package "I even got my dad a present! I hope he likes it, I thought it was super special when I saw it in the shop" he beamed.

"Oh good! Seattle's a really good time, I'm glad you got to see some fun things. There's a lot of really nice shops too." He smiled even more at the present--that was just too cute. "How sweet of you, to think of your dad too. I'm sure he'll love it."

"Do you ever get lonely? I mean, traveling so much must not give you much time to be around people you love."

Eliot shrugged at the question, "Sometimes a little. But I get to go on so many adventures and tell my family all about them when I get back, and pick out nice presents for them too." By family, he was really talking about Margo (and Josh now too) but that kind of wasn't something to verbalize with a ten-year-old passenger.

Teddy smiled and nodded "That's good, I wanna go on adventures when I get older..." he paused, something unreadable passing over his face. "Dad says I can go on all kinds of adventures when I'm older, but then he'll be all alone. I don't know if I like that," he admitted quietly, before he looked up as the pilot gave the "We're about to land" explanation.

”Aww," Eliot said softly. "Maybe you can take him with you?" He was about to make another suggestion when he was cut off by the pilot. "That's my cue, I'll be right back, okay?" Normally he'd have to do landing in the back with the rest of the crew but when traveling with assigned kids everyone found it easier for the flight attendants to sit beside them for take off and especially landing because it could be scary. Teddy then found himself feeling a little sad. He had just made a friend, now they had to part? That was unfair.

Eliot performed the necessary safety checks, everything going smoothly, so in a matter of minutes he was beside Teddy again, giving a glance to the boy's seatbelt as he fastened his own. "You ready to see your dad?" He smiled, offering his hand.

Teddy smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready. Though I really like talking to you, so..." he smiled a little shyly. He didn't make friends easily, always with his nose in a book or his mind in a fantasy land. "We've got until we find my dad though, so...that's good at least," he added, his cheeks a little pink as he took Eliot's hand and squeezed it gently.

"That's very sweet of you, Teddy. I've really enjoyed our time together too, you're good company." He smiled again, a little bit amazed at how fast Teddy had gotten attached to him but he supposed it made sense--it was a long flight, and Eliot was always kind with his passengers (and it had definitely happened before.) He returned the squeeze to Teddy's hand, nodding, "I'm sure he's gonna be so happy to see you."

Teddy nodded "We're supposed to go get hot chocolate when I land, and then he's taking me to Central Park to see the park all lit up. I'm hoping he'll make a snowman with me." He grinned excitedly, "I really hope your vacation goes super duper awesomely though, everyone needs a break sometimes. I try to tell my dad that but he doesn't listen." Teddy giggled a little bit.

Eliot hummed, "You know that sounds like a really good idea, maybe I'll get some hot chocolate when I'm out too." He was glad Teddy was in for a night of wintertime delights; Eliot never really got a chance to do that kind of stuff and he'd always felt like it was too late to start. "Aww, thank you. And don't worry, once you get a little older he'll start listening. Well--maybe. You sound like you give good advice though."

Teddy beamed at that "I think so. Dad says sometimes I'm too smart for my own good. Which...I don't think you ever can be too smart ya know? Knowledge is power, and stuff." For a 10 year old, Teddy was insightful, but also very opinionated and a little sassy.

"They always said that about me too. It just means we know what's up. Knowledge is power, definitely," Eliot laughed a little bit, enjoying that Teddy was probably a little bit on the stubborn side. He had always been the same way, still sort of was.

A little pause. "Maybe, if you want, you could get hot chocolate with Dad and me? I mean, we'd have to ask him, but I think you could use the company!"

Eliot smiled again, "That's very, very sweet. We'll have to take it up with him, I don't want to keep you all waiting too long for your sweets, I have to help clean the plane after we land and everyone gets off."

"Well, we'll have to get our bags and stuff too, so maybe you can catch up with us afterward? If you want?" Teddy asked, smiling as he felt strangely glad to see Eliot smile. Maybe it was him being more sensitive to others but he felt like Eliot maybe didn't smile very much. He seemed lonely, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Eliot didn't want to get Teddy's hopes up because his dad might not be into the idea of hanging out with a stranger (especially with his son being home and all) but he looked so happy about the idea that it drew another smile, "You do make a good point. We'll see what he says, I have some time to kill before my flight out to Hawaii anyway." _Time that would probably be better spent getting hot chocolate rather than pregaming at the airport bar._ The plane began to land, though Eliot didn't flinch, keeping an eye on any distress from Teddy.

Teddy tensed slightly, but he didn't flinch or get too wound up. He merely squeezed Eliot's hand gently, smiling shakily. "That would be nice, hopefully he won't mind," he commented with a smile, relaxing visibly once the plane actually landed.

Eliot on the other hand had come a long way--he used to cry whenever planes landed (silently, because his parents weren't the most understanding) and while landings still gave him a little bit of a sick feeling in his stomach, he could probably sleep through it at this point.


	2. Unexpected Outcomes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quentin and Eliot Meet, and Teddy plays matchmaker.

They were slated to be off the plane first, as Eliot had to return to finish up cleaning so he let Teddy lead the way off the vessel, taking over once they were out and past security, "You just shout when you see him, okay?" Past experience told him that 90% of the time, the kid saw their guardian before Eliot did and that was completely fine.

Teddy nodded, "He has long brown hair, and he's...a little shorter than you? If that helps?" He explained as they walked, before he practically started dragging Eliot down the airport as he saw Quentin and called out, "Dad! I made a friend!"

Eliot did keep his eyes peeled, but, as predicted, Teddy saw him first. He thought it was adorable that Teddy referred to him as his friend, smiling as he was being pulled towards Dad Coldwater--who was apparently very attractive.

Quentin looked around from where he was standing and smiled brightly, running to meet them. "Teddy! My boy! Welcome home!" He hugged Teddy close, before he smiled brightly, "Hi! I'm Quentin. Thank you for taking care of my son, you were his um...attendant I guess? I hope he didn't give you any trouble."

Eliot just about fell over when Teddy's dad smiled like that, heart racing because how on Earth was this even fair? "He was no trouble at all," Eliot smiled (and it was warm and genuine because this guy--Quentin--could probably light up and warm a fucking room.) He quickly took a look at Quentin’s ID before holding his hand out to shake as he introduced himself, "I'm Eliot, and you're both so welcome.”

Quentin shook Eliot's hand firmly. "I'm Quentin, it is very nice to meet you. Teddy makes friends effortlessly so I'm not surprised really, I hope you two had some good conversations at least?" He smiled again, his dimples showing.

That smile, it was so contagious. Eliot was about to answer when Teddy spoke up for him. "We did! We talked about Fillory, and OH! Dad. Eliot has some time before he catches his flight for his vacation. If he wants, can he come get hot chocolate with us?!"

Quentin chuckled softly. "If he wants to, after he does what he needs to? Sure, I don't have a problem with that. I think I'd like to get to know your friend more anyway," he told Teddy, before he looked up at Eliot "If that isn't too strange? I know you probably have to help clean up and whatnot, but I've gotta go get Teddy's suitcase and stuff anyway, so...Just catch us if you wanna come?" He asked, giving Eliot an out if he wanted one.

Oh God--Quentin wanted to get to know him more? That did remind him he needed to get going though, as much as he didn't want to right now. "I do have like four hours before my next flight and...it'd be nice to get some hot chocolate." Quentin was probably infinitely better company than most of his coworkers, and much cuter too. "I have to do a few things but I'll be back. I'll catch you downstairs at baggage." Having a little company before his very long, very lonely flight couldn't hurt, right? He gave them another smile before heading back to the plane.

Quentin smiled softly, watching Eliot go, before Teddy tugged on his sleeve and he chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know, let's go kiddo," he walked with Teddy to the baggage claim, thinking about Eliot the entire time. Teddy was talking about Eliot too, and the more he talked, the more Quentin realized that in a way, they were similar. Teddy kept talking about how Eliot seemed lonely, and boy could Quentin relate.

But if Q was honest, he didn't expect Eliot to join them. The guy was probably just humoring Teddy, and there would be some kind of excuse, or he just wouldn't show. Why did that hurt to think about? Quentin hadn't allowed himself space to get invested in anyone since Penny...

He looked down at his right hand. He wore his wedding ring on the wrong hand, because he couldn't bear to take it off, not after losing Penny. He just…wasn’t ready yet, and didn't know if he would _ever_ be ready, even though Julia was always telling him that they needed to find a way to move on.

" _Penny would want you to be happy, not alone forever. You're not some widow who refuses to find love again out of the desire to not betray him are you? I mean...he loved you, he wouldn't want this."_ He remembered her saying.

Once they got the bags, Q sat on a bench to take a short break, talking with Teddy about his trip.

Eliot had long legs, so it didn't take him long to get back to the plane. When he got there, the head flight attendant happily told him he could go for the day, as weather was delaying the next flight anyway. "It's weather over in Minnesota, you're still on for tonight sweetie," she said kindly, "Oh, I almost forgot, this was under your little friend's seat."

She held out the small package to him, Eliot's eyes widening. "Oh, shit, thank you. Happy holidays!" He said, grabbing the rest of his own luggage and heading off the plane before anyone could ask him to do anything.

Eliot did duck into the bathroom to change; running around the airport in his uniform off the clock was never a good idea. Stuffy but breathable navy blue was quickly traded for tight black jeans and an elegant, deep purple-printed button-down with a black vest over it, fixing his hair fast and double checking he had everything before heading downstairs to baggage claim. He spotted Teddy and Quentin immediately, smiling and making his way over, "Hey sweetie, we forgot something very important," he said, handing the present to Teddy.

Teddy's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh! I didn't even---Thank you!" Teddy practically pounced on Eliot, hugging him tightly before he blushed a little and looked at Quentin, "I got you a present, and forgot it on the plane."

Quentin smiled, tucking the present in his bag before he smiled, "Then it is a good thing our new friend pulled through for us huh?" He grinned, struck for a moment by how beautiful Eliot was.

"Of course, that's what I'm here for," he giggled, hugging Teddy back. Eliot thought it was super cute, and he was so glad that he was able to bring the present back to where it belonged--he knew how much it meant to Teddy.

Eliot smiled again, turning to Quentin, "Did you want to get hot chocolate here, or outside the airport? I know this place like the back of my hand but once I'm out I'm a little bit useless."

"Well, we were planning on maybe going over to Central Park after stopping here? They're putting the lights on the trees, and they have an ice-skating area that is open. Would you like to come? We can show you some of the highlights of the city on the way? It is beautiful this time of year," Quentin said cheerfully.

Eliot hadn't planned on leaving, but four hours until boarding even began was just....almost too much. He could use some time to stretch, especially after the long flight from Seattle; maybe this was a good excuse. Plus he never liked being drunk on a plane anyway, not anymore at least. "That sounds really nice," Eliot smiled. And, okay, Quentin was really, really cute and Teddy was precocious and good company for a kid and it wasn't like he'd gotten to see much of New York City anyway... "I've heard so many stories about Central Park, I think it would be the perfect introduction. Lead the way."

Quentin's smile widened and it was so bright that it could probably power the entire eastern seaboard. He took one of Teddy's hands, made sure Teddy's suitcase was rolling correctly, before he led the way. First stop was the hot chocolate stand outside the airport.

"So, Eliot, are you from Seattle? Or did they fly you in to assist Teddy?" Quentin asked, figuring it was only fair to get to know Eliot a little, especially since they were making friends and all.

Teddy noticed the connection between his dad and Eliot, and decided to take the suitcase for a bit. he was strong for a 10 year old, and was also subtly playing matchmaker.

Eliot couldn't believe how much of a hold this guy had on him already but it wasn't his fault--that smile was just everything. Eliot returned it because he couldn't help it, warmth thrumming through his chest like something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Conversation was easy, Quentin was a calm presence which was such a far cry from so many of the people in and around the airport. Eliot followed the duo out, excited to see where they were headed.

"I'm from Seattle, yeah. I still live there and mostly do stuff out of that airport but I work all over though, domestically--wherever they need me. How about you, are you from New York?"

"Technically no. My dad is from Seattle, still lives there." Quentin answered, "I moved here when I decided to go to college to become an artist, which...shifted a bit when I decided to open a shop repairing jewelry and carpentry instead," he chuckled a little. "I met my former husband here, and just kind of...never went home. Of course now that Teddy is in school, I have more reason to stick around now, I mean...New York is home ya know? Normally I would have gone with Teddy to see my dad, but I had a last minute project I had to finish. Plus my dad doesn't get to see Teddy that often, so I wanted him to have that time.”

Quentin had thrown kind of a lot at him at once, but Eliot was sort of used to that working in such a fast-paced environment. The notion of Quentin going to art school made him smile; judging by his appearance, that made a lot of sense. Eliot was quick to find fellow creatives. "That makes a lot of sense, giving him that extra time." He smiled as the trio arrived at the boutique hot chocolate place. 

Quentin got them each a hot chocolate, asking for extra whipped cream on his, before he looked at Eliot "I have a bit of a sweet tooth, thank god for my gym membership," he chuckled, "Want extra marshmallows or anything?"

"Oooh I do!" Teddy beamed.

Eliot was about to offer to pay when Quentin already had, so he didn't push it. Money made things weird sometimes. He smiled, Teddy's enthusiasm making him rethink his initial plan on refusal. "You know what, I think I would. I've been known to like sweets too," It had been a long time since he treated himself to something so indulgent but--he was on vacation, and Quentin was really cute so why not pile on the sweets? He smiled to Teddy, "We'll be hot chocolate twins."

Teddy's eyes lit up, smiling brightly "Twinsies! Yes!" He giggled excitedly, smiling as both he and Eliot were given a sweet, cocoa delight. He made a point of telling the person making the hot chocolate "Happy Holidays!" since Q had taught him to be respectful of others' beliefs.

As they walked, Eliot thought on what Quentin had said about his work, humming, “Jewelry repair and carpentry, that must be really interesting. Especially this time of year.”

Quentin chuckled softly, before he nodded to Eliot, "I like the...serenity of the jewelry repair, while carpentry lets me get my hands dirty a little, and do something a bit more hands-on. Last week I repaired a rocking horse as a gift, it was really fun."

"That sounds like a really nice balance, doing a little bit of everything. That's kind of what I really like about being a flight attendant too, every day's a little bit different." Eliot took a sip of his hot chocolate, smiling. "I bet you made someone really happy with the rocking horse."

Even though this was definitely not anything close to a real date, Eliot found himself getting a little bit nervous. Dates of any kind weren't really his thing, and even now he was hesitating to call it such but he couldn't deny the implications--this wasn't exactly a friend outing when they weren't friends yet, right? But...maybe it was, and maybe that was okay and maybe it would be okay to engage in some light flirting.


	3. Winter Wonderlands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot joins Quentin and Teddy on a wintery day of fun. Sparks continue to fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Kazhig for the art! Check them out here! -[https://kazhig-pm.tumblr.com/](%E2%80%9Curl%E2%80%9D)

They hailed a taxi, Quentin sitting in the middle once they got in as a regular seat was the safest for little Teddy. Eliot and Quentin were practically pressed flush together because of the layers they had on but Eliot didn’t mind at all, feeling his heart jump a little bit at the extra contact he got from the other man during every sharp turn the cab driver took. The three of them didn’t make too much conversation, both Eliot and Teddy mostly distracted by all the lights adorning the city.

Quentin notices the bumpy ride (it’s hard not to) and smiles a little, carefully taking Eliot’s hand. It was only for a moment, as they soon pulled up to their destination, but there was still time for Eliot to give him a gentle and assuring little squeeze.

When they got out of the taxi and really beheld Central Park, Eliot was in awe. This was such a far cry from the buttoned-up world of a rich upbringing that he almost felt like he had to pinch himself. Having Quentin here though made it less scary and more exciting, glancing to him, "The movies don't do it justice," he said, smiling a little bit.

Quentin (like his son) momentarily forgot his lesson of personal space, his arm sliding around Eliot's shoulders in a friendly gesture. "Yeah? It really is beautiful this time of year. Before Teddy came along I used to sit out here on my lunch break, and carve little figurines from wood blocks," he admitted with a smile, pulling out his phone, and showing Eliot first, a picture of the rocking horse, before he showed a carved pair of fruit, a peach and a plum, that looked SO REAL that people sometimes asked him if it was actual wood.

"Sorry, I'm probably being too uh, am I bragging? I don't mean to be." Q blushed a little, smiling as he saw Teddy looking at the lights in awe, "Don't run too far Teddy!" He called, keeping an eye on him as he sipped his hot chocolate.

"You should see this place in spring-time. They put little planters out, with all sorts of wildflowers. It is hell on people with allergies, but I love it." Q admitted with a sheepish look.

The thing about Eliot's work was that it didn't leave much room for tactile affection--obviously he couldn't go around touching customers, and his fellow flight attendants weren't typically touchy-feely individuals, with a few exceptions. So that arm around him just about made him melt, long-dormant touch starvation rearing its ugly head, and Eliot was immediately glad that within the next twelve hours he'd be with Margo in Hawaii getting doted on. For now, he'd allow himself to enjoy this though, a smile forming at the idea of Quentin out here carving things out of wood. He barely knew the man, but that was definitely on brand.

Eliot was about to ask what kinds of things he carved, but Quentin was ahead of him with his phone already out. He looked at the pictures, stunned that wood could be turned into such realistic pieces. "That's amazing," he said softly, giving Quentin a smile. "The rocking horse too, you're really talented. Definitely not bragging." He took a sip of the sweet beverage, nodding at the notion of New York in the spring-time. "It sounds beautiful, allergies and all. Anything must be prettier than spring in Seattle, by then I'm usually dying for some sunshine. You know how it is."

Sometimes Eliot wondered why he stayed, but it was hard to consider anything else when so much of his life had been so entrenched in the value of tradition. He resented his brothers for getting out (among many other much more personal reasons,) and that was maybe one of the reasons he took on being a flight attendant in the first place: he couldn't live in Seattle but he also couldn't _not_ live in Seattle.

"So, how do you all do holidays in New York?"

Quentin paused for a second "Well, that's a little bit of a complicated question, because we're a bit of a non-traditional family," he admitted "Teddy's father and I decided that we weren't going to raise him in any particular religion, so that he could make his own choices when he got older. This...didn't go over well with Teddy's Dad's family, but my dad supported us completely. So, usually we spend the holiday doing various holiday traditions more tied to the non-religious idea of Christmas, rather than anything specific. We go make snowmen, bake cookies, my best friend Julia, who was our surrogate, comes over and we watch the typical Christmas cartoons, etc."

Eliot couldn't help a smile--that was so sweet, so unlike anything he'd ever experienced around this time of year. His family always had rigid Christmas traditions, culminating in the inevitable Christmas party that almost always ended in Eliot locked in his bedroom crying as quietly as he possibly could.

So he always dreaded December, despite being out of his parents' estate for quite a while. He always volunteered to work because being inert made him sad but Margo had begged him to go on vacation with her.

Obviously these weren't things he could unload on Quentin though, especially after he just told his tale--Eliot was glad there was some joy for the little family to find, despite whatever happened to Teddy's other Dad.

Quentin realized he was rambling, and blushed a little "Sorry, I went into detail a bit there. Um, do you...skate?" He asked, once he noticed that Teddy was over watching people skate. "I'm terrible at it, but we could probably manage together, if you want? I figure Teddy will want to skate a little. If it's no trouble..."

"Hey, no, I think that's all really sweet. That sounds like a great way to do the holidays. And--about that, I actually used to be really good at skating. I could probably still...I mean, if you all wanted, we could go around the rink a few times, yeah." Quentin was just so cute and Teddy was just so adorable, and plus he had plenty of time before his plane took off so Eliot couldn't say no.

Quentin smiled softly, then took Eliot's hand, much like Teddy had done before ,"Uh, feel free to laugh when I fall over, I'm uh, not very coordinated at this yet," he answered shyly, the two of them joining Teddy closer to the rink.

Eliot looked down at their hands, blinking and smiling a little bit. "Everyone starts somewhere. I won't laugh, promise."

"Dad! Can we skate a little? I know you're a bit clumsy, but Eliot's here! He can help you, he's really strong and smart!" Teddy beamed excitedly.

Quentin hoped Eliot didn't see his cheeks turning pink, as he nodded, "Yeah kiddo, let's go get some skates eh?"

Teddy's vote of confidence made Eliot smile all the more--it was cute, how excited he was about this. Then he glanced over and he could swear Quentin was blushing, but maybe it was just the gently chilly wind on his cheeks. He squeezed Quentin's hand very gently, "I think that's a good place to start," he said, following Teddy's lead to the ice skate rental station. They approached and Eliot paused. "Oh, um, let me get this; you got cocoa and are keeping me from eating my nine millionth airport grilled cheese, which is truly a blessing."

"Are you sure?" Quentin asked with a raised eyebrow "I mean, I got a pretty hefty bonus for my last project, and we'd have done this anyway, if anything I'm just glad to have you with us." Quentin added, not wanting to put any kind of financial burden on Eliot.

Quentin wasn't used to this anymore, and it made him wonder if maybe he had waited too long. Was Eliot trying to offer this in a dating way? Or was he overthinking? Probably overthinking if Quentin was honest, he did that a lot.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. The airline treats us really well and you're good company." This was infinitely better than killing time inside on his phone.

Eliot hadn't really meant anything serious by it--maybe it _looked_ a little damning, but he was just trying to be nice and trying to be grateful. He got up to the counter, clearing his throat because _oh God, here we go_. "Size, uh, 13 please?" Like clockwork, the guy raised an eyebrow, but brought him the skates all the same, looking to Quentin next.

"Size 11 for me please, and uh..." Q started, before Teddy piped up, "I'm a size 7!" he beamed up at the man.

Teddy had big feet for his age, but Quentin was sure he'd grow into them. He got it from Penny, or at least Q liked to think so.

Q rubbed Eliot's back for a minute "Don't feel self conscious, Teddy's dad had size 15's. It was always hilarious when we went bowling," he admitted with a slightly playful grin. It was...strange, to be able to joke about these things now, but it had been five years...so maybe it was good.

Eliot got his card out of his wallet, patiently waiting for the clerk to get back and be ready before handing it over, not thinking too much on it, but always feeling a little…”self conscious _”_ was definitely the right phrase, at least in these settings.

"Oh wow, I thought 13 was bad," Eliot said with a bit of a smile. 15--finding dress shoes must've been hell. It was only then that he noticed the hand on his back, making just the tips of his ears flush pink. The handholding was one thing, this was another level of shit that Eliot was just not used to and he was almost afraid of how much he actually liked it. Once they were done, he took his card back, and lead the way over to the benches right outside the skating rink.

"You know, I haven't actually been bowling in a really long time, there was an alley by my school, sometimes when my friends cut class--" Eliot looked to Teddy, right, he should probably be a slightly better influence "--er, when we'd get out early we'd end up there. They had, uh, really good burgers." ( _Nailed it.)_

Quentin chuckled softly, "Oh don't worry about minding what you say. His dad was a hellraiser, a bit of a bad boy, before we met. Maybe I have a type, who knows." Quentin shrugged, "Regardless, I've already told Teddy if I have to, I'll strap an ankle monitor on him," he grinned playfully.

 _A type_? It wasn't alarming exactly, but cute and something Eliot definitely had to brush off before he got too attached. He couldn't help a soft little chuckle, "That's good to know. Though I'm not sure I'd classify myself as a hellraiser. Something tells me Teddy won't give you too much trouble either, but maybe I'm charmed." Something told him Teddy shared the ability with Eliot to get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Eliot also definitely did have a habit of raising some hell, but that wasn't acquaintance talk.

"As for bowling, they have a pretty great place down from our house that we go to fairly regularly. Next time you're in the area, maybe we should go for a few rounds?" Quentin offered, not even entertaining the idea that Eliot wouldn't be back at some point. Like Teddy, Q was the type to cherish friends, and keep them when they were found.

It was sweet of Quentin, to think of them as friends and have him over again. While Eliot didn't know the city at all, he was in New York fairly often--it was a pretty common destination from Seattle. "Oh, see, this is where I have to admit that I'm actually terrible at bowling."

Teddy rolled his eyes, "Come ooonnnn, let's go skate!" He huffed, tying the laces of the skates effortlessly.

Quentin snorted a little "Coming Kiddo, hold your horses," he teased, before sitting so he could put his skates on.

Teddy voiced his insistence again and Eliot couldn't help a big smile at how excited he was. He sat beside Quentin, pulling his skates on and lacing them, "Alright, I think I'm set. Is everyone else good?"

"I'm all set, how about you Ted-ster?" Quentin asked with a smile, chuckling as Teddy presented his skate-clad feet.

"I'm ready!" The youth grinned.

"Alright then, let's do this..." Quentin stood up carefully, then proceeded to almost face-plant the second they got on the ice. "See, you and bowling? This is me with Ice and slippery surfaces," Quentin admitted, managing to steady himself, "I think I can probably help you with the bowling, where as my skating is a bit of a lost cause I think," he admitted sheepishly, attempting to skate toward Eliot.

Eliot was a little late in catching Quentin, as he was only just on the ice when Quentin almost fell over. He chuckled, going right over to him (making it look unfairly easy) and taking Quentin by the hand. "I promise, you're not a lost cause. Here," Eliot shifted to take Quentin's arm in his own, sturdy but still with room to move. "And I promise, I'm stronger than I look."

Eliot smiled watching Teddy on the ice--who had a surprising amount of skill for someone so young. "You're a natural at this, Teddy," he smiled, holding a little tighter to Quentin's hand.

Quentin smiled gratefully, "Thanks, I uh, well, he apparently didn't get his grace on the ice from me," he laughed softly. He held onto Eliot's hand, and as they skated for a few minutes, he found himself working to try and keep himself upright. Eliot obviously underestimated his clumsiness a bit, but he was getting better...maybe?

"Trust me, it's not genetic. My older brothers were definitely more comfortable on the football field than on the ice." Quentin was wobbly but it wasn't too hard to keep up--the only thing was, he wasn't used to skating with someone else anymore (which felt super depressing, but that was filed away under more things he definitely wouldn't be thinking about.

Quentin was a little distracted for a moment, not just by watching Teddy, but by how much he enjoyed holding Eliot's hand. He felt like a schoolboy again, which was ridiculous, since he barely knew this guy...yet they felt so connected, maybe he was overthinking. Eliot probably thought this was just a fun outing with a single dad and his kid, this wasn't a date...but did Q want it to be? That was a question he was not prepared for.

Quentin wound up overcompensating, and before he knew it, he and Eliot collided. Thankfully Eliot was more sturdy than he looked, though he hadn't meant to make Eliot fall as well. "Oof! I--" before Q realized it, their lips were touching, a soft, gentle kiss. He was momentarily dazed, melting into it, before he blushed and pulled back a little. "Uh...thanks for catching me...?" He felt his cheeks quickly reddening.

Eliot was pointedly trying very hard to ignore his feelings, even if they felt like...something new, something unlike anything else he let settle in his chest, and by the minute it was getting harder to completely say no to it. Eliot found himself rationalizing that maybe it would be okay to indulge this sort of softness, to let Quentin get a little closer than he normally let anyone because it wasn't like he was gonna be here much longer so it wasn't like he could really get hurt because he himself was leaving in a matter of hours.

All of this was mildly distracting to say the least, and he didn't even realize Quentin was skating right into him and taking him down until his ass hit the ice and his lips were ever so gently pressed to his new friend's and _fuck_ he was blushing too but at least he wasn't the only one. "Yeah, of course, I...hope you didn't get hurt, sorry I'm not a better, uh, cushion." And then he realized he should probably be standing and helping Quentin up so he did, still blushing, holding out his hand for him to take.

At any given time, Eliot was so full of want, and this moment was no exception. Of course he wanted to keep kissing Quentin, but he held back, pulled back, prepared to thoroughly swallow every single one of these feelings (admitting to himself, painfully, that there were feelings to swallow.) "No, hey, it's totally fine. The nature of the game, right?" He smiled, swallowing his quickening heartbeat and the fact that his hands were clammy beneath his leather gloves and the his inability to keep his eyes off of Quentin's beautiful smile.

It was amazing to Eliot, how easily he could get into bed with someone all night and leave like nothing happened, but this, _this_ is what was doing him in.

Quentin was dazed by the feeling of Eliot's lips, but then he registered what Eliot had said, and took his hand carefully, slowly getting up. "You're a great cushion, and uh...sorry I made you fall?" He smiled sheepishly. He had mixed feelings in that moment, guilt...but also hope? Was this what moving on was supposed to be? Was this a sign by some power Q didn't really believe in? _Was this a gift meant for him?_

Nonsense, Eliot would have to leave...and then it would be just him and Teddy again. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, he loved Teddy, and loved spending time together, but why did the thought of Eliot leaving feel like a thorny vine wrapping around his heart, constricting him and taking his breath away?

"Shall we uh, try again? Maybe I won't knock you down this time?" Quentin offered with a sheepish smile.

Teddy was watching them both. Eliot could feel his ears flushing. "Let's give it another shot. I'll be better at catching you." That smile was going to be the fucking end of Eliot and he knew it. "The trick is to go a little slower than you want to. It's not like walking but your brain wants to treat it like walking."

Quentin nodded, helping Eliot up and brushing him off a little. He couldn't stop thinking about that kiss, it had been...wonderful. Was he seeing that blush on Eliot's face? Or was it a response to the cold?

"Let's try again." Quentin agreed, letting Eliot walk him through it a bit.

"It's not as easy as I make it look. You're doing great." He smiled, helping to lead Quentin around and happily catching him whenever he slipped--which made Eliot's heart race something fierce, having him in such close proximity again, but he didn't mind in the least. Pretty soon, Quentin could skate more than twenty feet without slipping so that definitely was progress in Eliot's eyes.

After another hour (of Eliot catching him again, with a bit of awkwardness between them because of it) Quentin sat on a bench near the ice, watching Eliot and Teddy. Somehow they had all lost track of time, but in this moment, it didn't matter. Eliot was so good with Teddy, and Q found himself feeling a bit of heartache, becoming both acutely aware of his loneliness, and also aware that if Penny was still here, they'd be doing this together.

He rubbed his ankle, which was becoming a tiny bit sore from the skate.


	4. Time Waits for No Man (Or Flight Attendant)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot loses track of time, and new holiday plans are forged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter folks, but we're getting into the meat of things!

A while later, Teddy had asked Eliot to show him some moves and Eliot happily agreed (especially since Quentin looked exhausted. Ice skating was hard work.) "It's a basic spin, it looks really cool but it's actually pretty easy and I think you can do it. " Eliot demonstrated, before talking through it in steps, helping Teddy get his footing right.

Quentin watched gleefully, taking a few pics with his phone, mostly because he wanted to be able to look back on this later, especially if Eliot went home and they...drifted apart. The idea of that tore up Quentin's heart a bit, which made no sense, they hadn't known each other long. Though maybe Penny had been right in saying, _“Time doesn't really matter if you connect with someone. The universe works in weird ways."_

Quentin tried to push those thoughts aside, just content to watch Teddy and Eliot have fun. "Lookin good Teddy!" He called from the sidelines with a bright grin. "Eliot's gonna turn you into a pro before long!”

Eliot happily cheered for Teddy when he was able to nail down the move--which, as anticipated, didn't take too long, all things considered. So Eliot showed him another, until he got bored and just wanted to skate around, with which Eliot happily accompanied him. Teddy was good, he didn't even have to hold the boy's hand (though he did offer.)

Just like that, he was really attached to the little family. This never happened, or rather it hadn't for a very long time and Eliot didn't really even know what to do with these feelings, and settled on putting them away from him in favor of skating around, watching Teddy to make sure he was okay and catching Quentin's eye every time he passed.

The wind was starting to burn his cheeks a little after long, and soon enough Teddy looked very tired too. Eliot desperately didn't want to go yet--it felt like he just got here--but he also didn't want to be overstaying his welcome. He skated over to Quentin, "Hey, um, I was thinking of doing one more lap around before I called it a night? If you want to join me."

Quentin smiled, nodding a little, "Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea. I could go another round."

"Good, don't want all that hard work to go to waste," Eliot smiled, holding out his hand and helping Quentin onto the ice.

"Oh and uh..." Quentin blushed a little, waiting until they were on the ice before he spoke again. "Do you um, want my number? I mean I know you'll have to go home soon, but..." he looked away shyly, "I like having you around, so...we could keep in touch by phone?"

Eliot nodded enthusiastically--it was uncharacteristic, but it suited him. He never got excited about things anymore. "Yes, I'd love your number. Let's do that now, I don't want to forget," he smiled broadly, taking note of the little blush and the admission of wanting him around which was just...that felt so good.

Using one hand, Eliot dug his phone out of his pants. The first thing he noticed was that he had seven missed calls from the airline--and then he saw the time. His eyes widened and he blushed deeply, chuckling, "Oh shit, my um, plane left half an hour ago..." He knew already it was the last one out for the night and there wouldn't be any until morning--unless he wanted to do a layover but given how long it was already going to take, he'd rather just spend the night in the city.

Quentin felt a surprising feeling of relief, and joy about that, which made him feel guilty. "Um, I'm sorry...we didn't mean to make you miss your flight, but uh..." he bit his bottom lip gently, "Okay, I’m just gonna come out and say this, because I feel like I need to say this or I'll regret it forever," Quentin fidgeted a little, looking away. "Do you um...want to spend the holiday with us? I mean, I know spending it with practical strangers is probably weird but...Teddy likes you, and I do too. So, our home is open?" He looked at Eliot nervously, bracing himself for rejection.

 _If only I could make him understand that I feel this connection with him that I can't explain_. Quentin thought to himself. "I mean, if not that's totally okay, I don't want you to feel pressured or anything---" Q started rambling, his usual defense mechanism when he was worried and nervous

Eliot also felt an un-nameable feeling; he knew he _should_ have been upset that he missed his flight and would be disappointing Margo but...he really wanted to spend more time with Quentin, even just the night. He could fix his flight in the morning, right?

Also, Quentin apparently wanted him there. That was...kind of enormous; making friends was always really hard for Eliot. Spending the whole holiday--he felt like that might be overstepping, but he wouldn't refuse for now. Quentin's rambling was actually really cute, "I don't feel pressured at all. I...need to talk to my--she's kinda like my sister--when we get back, to let her know what's going on and check in but at the very least I can definitely stay the night. It'll be like a sleepover."

Teddy (at the mention of a sleep over) made a bright smile, despite his fatigue "Oooh we should tell Aunt Julia too!"

Q chuckled, "I'll call her when we get home bud," he promised, before he nodded to Eliot. "You can stay as long as you want Eliot, I mean that. I'll even pay for your flight home afterward," he promised, and in his excitement found himself hugging Eliot.

"I really appreciate that, thank you. And don't worry about it, all my plane rides are super discounted anyway and...it wasn't your fault. I totally lost track--time flies when you're having fun," he said, almost sweating as Quentin wrapped his arms around his little frame. Eliot gently hugged him, patting him on the back and smiling a little bit.

Quentin realized what he was doing a moment later and pulled back, blushing a little. "Uh, sorry. I...keep invading your space," he rubbed the back of his head, smiling a little shyly.

A soft laugh escaped Eliot, "It's okay, I know it's exciting. And I don't usually get to be affectionate with people so it's fine, it's...nice even."

"Let's get home before Teddy passes out? Carrying a limp 10 year old is not a good time," Quentin chuckled.

Eliot looked to Teddy, who looked exhausted, nodding and smiling, "Sounds good to me. We'll take our skates off and then you can lead the way."

Quentin smiled, grateful that Eliot wasn't bothered by his awkwardness, or his affection. "I...usually don't either," he admitted. "Just Teddy and my sister, well, best friend, Julia," he explained, before they were off to go turn their skates in.

Eliot smiled again, removing his ice skates and switching into his usual shoes. He was glad that Quentin seemed to have a sisterly friend too--a lot of people didn't seem to get it. Plus it was nice to know that Quentin wasn't all alone in the world (besides Teddy, of course, but adult company was obviously different.)

Shortly after they were on the short walk to the home that Quentin shared with Teddy. Eliot took in the sights as they walked, the Christmas lights, the light dusting of snow on the grass.

It had been a while since he had a minute to appreciate these things.

About halfway, Q had to carry Teddy, who was getting really tired. He didn't mind too much. Eliot smiled as they paused for Quentin to lift Teddy and begin carrying him, and Eliot was pretty sure he'd never seen anything more wholesome. They made small talk along the way, and Q couldn't help but think about how...right, this felt.

When they arrived at the small house (which was in a surprisingly quiet neighborhood for New York) he unlocked the door and smiled to Eliot, "You can make yourself at home while I put Teddy to bed if you like?" He asked with a smile, before Teddy squirmed out of his arms.

The house was exactly like Eliot pictured it, smile only brightening. He followed Quentin inside and set his bags down by the couch, nodding, "That sounds perfect," he said, and then all of a sudden there was Teddy hugging him tight, making Eliot smile all the more as he hugged the boy back.

"Thank you for spending so much time with us today! I love you!" Teddy said with as much enthusiasm as possible, before Q guided him in to put him to bed.

Teddy told him that he loved him and Eliot felt his heart just about stop--then he remembered that kids sometimes were super expressive and Teddy probably loved him as much as he loved SpongeBob or something and that was completely fair and totally valid--he was cooler than SpongeBob, right? Regardless, he gave the boy another smile, patting him on the back, "Sweet dreams, Teddy. I had a lot of fun with you guys today."

Teddy beamed up at Eliot, nodding once before Q put him to bed. It took Q a few minutes, because he also changed clothes into something a little more comfortable, a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He also got a few things that Eliot might want to wear, since he figured Eliot packed for a warmer climate.


	5. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot settles in to the Coldwater household, and gets a taste of domesticity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of backstory and bonding here! Fair warning, if references to the reason Quentin is a widower might trigger you, please do not read further. It is only for this chapter, and is not graphic in its depiction. Otherwise, curl up with a fuzzy blanket, and practice self care please :)

While Q was changing clothes, it was a perfect time for Eliot to call Margo and let her know what was going on. When she picked up the Face-time call, she was in her hotel room, and smiled a bit. "Hey, I assumed you'd be on your flight by now, everything okay?"

Eliot relaxed on the couch, adjusting the lamp beside him, "I feel like such an asshole but I ended up missing it." He really did feel terrible, and planned on looking into flights for the next day as soon as Quentin headed to bed. Obviously, Eliot wanted to be honest, "I was with this guy, I was assigned to watch his son on my flight over from Seattle and I just...we were ice skating and I completely lost track of time. It was like--" He shook his head, lowering his voice, "--like we got along so well, he asked me to stay for the whole holiday when we realized I missed the flight."

Margo's eyes widened, before she grinned, "Oh honey." She clapped excitedly, "Talk about a Hallmark movie in progress, hell yes! We'll make up the holiday plans later. The universe is obviously trying to tell you something. I mean...you're a practicing Pagan babe, how many metaphysical signs do you need before the powers that be shove your face in his lap?" She smirked a little. "So put on your tits, and see where this goes. You best not cock out on me, I expect deets at some point."

It was hard for Eliot to process anything but overwhelming relief that Margo wasn't mad at him--because he'd completely understand if she were, and he really did intend to seek out another flight. Maybe she was right though; he always thought of himself as a romantic, there just wasn't anyone worth his time to give that energy to.

His life wasn't suited for _romantic_ , but this wasn't his life right now. This was _the holidays_ , a rare treat of time completely uninterrupted by work or sleep schedules. "Okay. Tits are, uh, on, I'll let you know what happens. And Bambi? Thank you for your blessing, I swear I'll make it up to you."

Margo chuckled, "Just don't cock out on me El, I expect good news, and a very happy Eliot when I hear from you again." She teased, blowing him a kiss. "Also, I've got extra time off, so if we have to, we can schedule a vacation, and you can bring your new love bird and mini-love bird along.”

She knew Eliot, and she happened to believe in karma. Eliot had enough good karma (in her eyes anyway) that it only made sense for the universe to throw him a bone. She might be cynical and didn't really believe in " _true love_ " but...maybe she was wrong. Maybe this would be good for Eliot.

Eliot was about to protest that he didn't even know if Quentin liked him like that or if this was strictly a friend thing, but he realized it didn't wholly matter. Another close friend wasn't something Eliot was going to turn away from, and maybe Quentin would let him make up staying here unannounced by whisking him and Teddy away for a few days. Regardless of what happened, everything was...already good, right? Eliot smiled broadly, "Trust me, I'll be checking in. And yes, we'll have to plan something when you have your time off, I can figure something out with the airline."

Eliot heard Quentin rustling around nearby so he gave Margo another smile, "I gotta go, I love you Bambi. I'll talk to you soon, tell Josh I said hi."

"Love you too El, and Josh is currently manscaping for a bit of island romping, sooooo I'll tell him in a sec," Margo smirked playfully, before they ended the call.

Eliot rolled his eyes happily, wishing them a good night before hanging up and sticking his phone on the side table. He was relieved for a lot of reasons, but he told himself it was because now he wouldn't have to try and negotiate another flight over to Hawaii on some of the most hellish days at the airport.

Quentin came out about that time, "Hey, uh, I remembered you saying you were going to Hawaii, so I figured you probably didn't pack for this sort of weather. Do you wanna use one of these?" He held up an oversized sweater (which would fit Eliot pretty well) and a few other things. "Don't want you to freeze or anything," he explained sheepishly.

Eliot perked up at the sound of Quentin's voice, smiling at the kind gesture. "That's really sweet of you, thank you. I appreciate the warm layers, not that I need them in here." Quentin was a little bit shorter than him so he had a feeling the items might be a little tight but that wasn't the worst thing in the world. He picked up the sweater, putting it on with another little smile finding that it fit like a glove.

"Did you get to talk to your friend?" Quentin added curiously.

"I just got off FaceTime with her, she's already having a great time and--uh, I told her about your offer to have me stay for the holidays and she seems to think it's a good idea. As long as I wouldn't be overstepping or anything, I don't want to put you in a weird position."

Quentin's gaze turned into something fond and gentle. "You're not overstepping, we've got plenty of room, and we love having you here Eliot," he said firmly. "I'll call my best friend in a few minutes and let her know that you'll be joining us for the holiday. I'm pretty sure she's gonna be excited for a fresh face around here."

"Thank you. I'm really happy to be here even though I’m way underdressed for it,” Eliot said. “It's been a really, really long time since I did anything close to this, I--I'm usually working through the holidays. But yeah, I'd love to meet her."

At the comment about Eliot under-dressing he chuckled a little. "I'm sure you look great in those bathing suits though, but...I like the sweater on you," he admitted, his cheeks a little pink. "If you want, tomorrow I can direct you to a few shops, if you want a few things that are in your size," he offered, before he realized he had meant to offer something to Eliot to eat and drink.

The compliment caught him slightly off guard but not in a bad way--was Quentin hitting on him? Not that he minded, but probably not, right? He was blushing though. Eliot blushed just gently too, maybe it was contagious. "Thank you, it's a perfect fit. And I can pull off winter wear just as well as I can pull off bathing suits. Um, that being said, some store recommendations would definitely be nice."

"Yeah, let me rack my brain a little. You hungry? Or thirsty? I can whip us up something small, if you want?"

Eliot was about to refuse, not wanting his host to go to any trouble, but he was pretty hungry and would rather ask than have to awkwardly navigate Quentin's kitchen later. "Actually a snack would be really good, I'm not picky. I can help, too."

"Well, now that tiny ears are in bed, we can cook, eat, and talk about things that...aren't really good for tiny ears. I'm sure you've got questions about this non-traditional situation Teddy and I have going." Quentin admitted with a shrug, "Any food allergies I should be aware of?" He asked curiously, texting Julia to ask when a good time to call would be, before he led the way to the kitchen.

"Hey, I was definitely not about to ask any questions unless you offered. I know how these things can be, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Eliot said, trying to be reassuring. Of course he had questions, but when it came to family stuff, Eliot knew firsthand that some things were better left unprovoked. "Oh and no allergies here, though I never had much of a taste for seafood."

"I apologize for the mess. I was going to clean up after Teddy and I got back, since I still have to wrap a few of his presents from Santa." he chuckled a little. "Thank goodness you haven't seen my workshop though, I'm _terrible_ about cleaning it, and it is a mess."

Eliot took his shoes off before standing, smoothing down his vest. "Please don't apologize, you didn't know I was coming." It felt sort of weird to think about but the light mess felt comforting to Eliot--like they really lived here; it was such a far cry from the minimalistic rich people bullshit he was used to, none of the lavish houses he'd been to ever felt like anyone really lived in them. Even his own place felt barren sometimes. This was refreshing, he could practically feel Quentin and Teddy and the remnants of their routine scooping him up and keeping him something like warm.

For the first time maybe ever Eliot got why people had kids, but maybe this was the first time he was in a space where children weren't treated like a burden.

"I'm sure your workshop is perfect. The only thing that matters is if you can find stuff," Eliot smiled, going over to Quentin and gesturing for him to lead the way to the kitchen, "Your house is really cute, by the way. I'm excited to spend the next week or so here."

Quentin's eyes lit up when Eliot said he was excited to spend the week with them. "Really? I was kinda worried you'd find us boring." Quentin admitted with a shrug, checking his cabinets to see what he had on hand. "Hmmm, how about pizza? I have some homeade pizza dough that I froze from the last time we did "make your own pizza" night. It should be enough to feed us both, and I have plenty of toppings."

"Pizza sounds amazing right now, thank you. So long as it's not too much trouble. It's hard to eat real food when you're in the air," Eliot smiled, happy that this was going to be something more along the lines of real food, as opposed to something smaller--he was actually a lot hungrier than he initially thought coming in. Plus seeing what Quentin liked for toppings was a good easy conversation starter.

Quentin then paused for a second. "You can ask anything, no matter how personal. I mean I trusted you with my kid Eliot, that means something." he chuckled a little, shrugging slightly. "Besides, I wanna get to know you better, and it wouldn't be fair for me to be the only one getting answers."

Eliot blushed just a little bit, "I know, but I also want you to know that you have an out if you want it, just like I have an out too. But I guess to start in an obvious place--what do you and Teddy usually do around this time of year?"

Quentin smiled and nodded, "If I'm not comfortable with answering a question, I'll let you know, promise. You can do the same." He said calmly, "As for what we do this time of year, usually I go with Teddy to my dad's place in Seattle, this year I had a last minute job to do. But, usually after we get back, we bake cookies, my best-friend Julia comes over and we watch the good old cartoons like Frosty etc. Julia usually takes Teddy on a day trip looking at competitive holiday decoration contexts, and then there's also this."

He showed Eliot a huge advent calendar designed around Fillory, with the days leading up to the 25th having various small gifts. "Each night we open this up, tomorrow we'll do the ones while Teddy was gone, and get caught up,” he explained with a smile.

"We try not to plan things too heavily though, like we still need to decorate the tree, which I'm sure Teddy will encourage you to help us with." Quentin grinned a little, "We might have to amend the plans a little this year though, the weather-man keeps saying there's a possibility of a snowstorm coming in sometime before Christmas Day."

"Okay. That sounds good," Eliot smiled, nodding. He listened intently, all of that sounding like a wonderful time. Eliot couldn't remember the last time he had a real holiday celebration that wasn't centered around work or alcohol--not that there was anything wrong with either of those things.

His attention turned to the large Fillorian advent calendar that caught his eye when he came in. It was beautiful, Eliot had never seen anything like it (and it was just a bonus that he actually got that reference.) "That sounds so sweet, I bet he's so excited. It's actually got me kind of curious too, I've never seen one of these--not one that wasn't just chocolate anyway."

"I can't wait for him to see the gift at the end. I found a talking sloth toy, and figured I'd save it for last, since the talking animals are his favorite" he grinned excitedly. If all went like Q hoped (which things rarely did) he had an idea for a gift for Eliot, but it would require some last minute prep.

Another smile curved Eliot’s lips, "I remember him telling me how much he liked the talking animals, I'm sure he's gonna love it." Quentin had a good energy, calming and sweet--this seemed like it would be a really nice, low-key time. “You know, I've never actually decorated a tree before," he smiled. The talk of a snowstorm didn't really intimidate him. "I kinda think snow's really pretty. I'm sure we'll find something to do."

Quentin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the mention of Eliot never having decorated a tree. "Now you've got me questioning your parents, something tells me I need to have a serious talk with them," he said before he grinned a little. "But it doesn't matter, because you'll get to decorate one with us!" His smile was infectious, just like Teddy's. He began rolling out the leftover pizza dough while they talked.

Eliot snorted, "I grew up rich, so...my parents had people do it for us to make it 'aesthetically pleasing' or something. Then I moved and uh, I mostly do the Pagan thing now, I do usually get a little rosemary plant and stick a star on there." Getting a Christmas tree felt weird for someone living alone--Eliot was worried it'd just make him sad during an already sore time of year. He smiled at the idea of decorating with Quentin and Teddy though, that sounded really nice and really wholesome. "I've always seen it in the movies, I'm glad I'll get to experience it."

Quentin smiled a little as he listened. "I'd love to hear more about the Pagan thing. I'm not religious but certain Pagan traditions have been known to pop up from time to time," he admitted. After a few bits of kneading, Quentin realized he needed to take his ring off, so he paused, removed the engraved ring, and set it on the counter, before dusting his hands with flour and kneading again.

"Of course, I'm happy to impart my knowledge. Though it's mostly cherry picked, but I guess most religion stuff is kinda...doing what works, what feels good. Or right. I really like candles, there tends to be a lot this time of year. Meditation and reflection and, uh, having really good excuses to buy nice herbal tea." Eliot was kind of excited to be sharing, it wasn't often he got to share this part of himself (besides with Margo, but hotel accommodations made candles impossible, and Hawaii wasn't exactly where he wanted to be drinking a cup of hot peppermint tea.) why parenthesis here?

Eliot looked from Quentin’s hands back up to his face before sitting down, "So, what kind of toppings do we have?"

Quentin opened the fridge, "Uhh, Onions, peppers, pepperoni, sausage, cheese of course, mushrooms?" He let Eliot look at all the varieties of pizza toppings he had, since he tried to keep everything on hand in case he or Teddy had a craving.

Eliot thought on the options a moment, smiling a little bit, "I really like mushrooms. Oh, pepperoni too, actually. But I'm open to suggestions too."

Quentin grabbed the thing of mushrooms, and pepperoni, two kinds of cheese, and then onions. "How's this?" He asked with a smile, grabbing a pan and the jar of sauce out of the fridge. "I like candles too, the idea of using candles as a spiritual tool is such a good thing to be honest," he admitted.

"Penny used to light a candle every night before bed when Teddy was a newborn, he wasn't the religious type either, but he said if some higher power would keep Teddy safe while he was sleeping, then he'd take a chance on that any day." Quentin added, feeling surprised that it didn't hurt quite the way it always did when he talked about Penny.

"Looks perfect, onions are always welcome. Oh, hey, do you want me to make us some drinks?" He got up to get a little closer, just in case Quentin needed a hand--even if he didn't want drinks. "They really add something extra. I've always felt really...one with them."

Eliot listened intently--he'd heard of the similar rituals for newborns and just about anyone who needed extra eyes on them while they slept. It made complete sense--Eliot couldn't imagine caring for something that small, especially for the first time. "That's really…you use a lot of ellipsis and this would be a great time to get rid of this one. You don’t lose anything without it lovely, if you don't mind my saying. I think I'd do the same thing." He wanted to say more, that Penny must've been a really good guy but he held his tongue for now, not wanting to overstep.

Quentin looked over at Eliot, a small smile forming, with something like sincere, genuine fondness in his gaze. "Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that. Drinks would be lovely, uhh, I keep the liquor in the top cabinet. Julia likes a rum and coke every now and again when she visits, so I keep a few things even though I rarely drink myself, a condition of my grief counseling, that just kinda never went away." he shrugged.

Quentin began chopping the onion and the mushrooms, so that they could be used as toppings properly.

Luckily, Eliot was tall so he easily reached the cabinet that Quentin was talking about, wanting to assess what liquor was present before heading to the fridge for mixing options, also smiling a little bit, "If I make you something alcoholic, is that gonna mess with you? I'm happy to keep yours without, I promise it'll still be really good."

He went to the fridge and settled on a gin and tonic--with a twist, obviously if Quentin requested no alcohol, he had a few substitutes in mind for the gin that would still be satisfying.

Quentin shook his head "Nah, it'll be fine. I take my medication in the morning, my therapist says as long as I'm not drinking earlier than 4 hours after I take it, I should be fine," he explained. "I'm curious to see what you come up with, I've never been much for mixology myself." He had always been good at cooking and baking, but cocktails somehow eluded Quentin. He started setting up the pizza, putting the sauce on and a healthy, hefty portion of toppings. Once it was to his satisfaction, he popped it in the oven to bake for a few minutes.

"Perfect. Honestly, early day drinking's a little overrated anyway--I used to be a boozy brunch-er but now it just makes me sleepy." Part of growing up, he supposed. He gathered the ingredients from the fridge, setting them on the counter with the gin, only having to search a couple of cabinets before he found cups. "I was always the party bartender, I have a natural aptitude. Not to brag," he snorted a little bit, beginning to mix things--ice and gin first, then tonic, then a bit of grapefruit juice, then a bit of rosemary.

"I drink so rarely these days, so forgive me if I'm a bit of a lightweight," Quentin admitted.

He slid one over to Quentin, smiling, "No forgiveness necessary, I probably won't be up for more than one or two of these. It's been a big day," he said, gently clinking Quentin's glass, "To new friends, and Fillory."

Quentin blushed at the toast, nodding and takin a sip. "Wow...that's really good!" He grinned a bit, taking another sip before setting the glass down so he could sit across from where Eliot had been sitting. They had a few minutes to wait until the pizza was done. "So, I feel like I should probably warn you before you meet Julia. She's uh, very protective, but also very nosy," he chuckled a little. "She's the closest thing to a sibling I've got, and...well, since Penny passed she's been pushing me to get back out there. So, she may ask you about your intentions, whether you have any intentions of uh, anything or not." He blushed a little. "I should probably tell you a few things about Penny too, since she might mention things when she has you as a captive audience."

Eliot beamed, "I'm so glad you like it!"

Quentin sat down and Eliot smiled again, happy to be sharing his company. Julia sounded a lot like Margo, so Eliot wasn't as intimidated as he probably would have been had he not had a sister like that too. He nodded, understanding where Julia would be coming from and definitely understanding how this looked especially from the outside. "I'm happy to answer all her questions. I get it, Margo's the same way and I'm sure you'd get the same treatment if you were in my shoes." He nodded again, "Please, tell me anything you think I should know. Or just anything you wanna talk about in general.”

"Well, Julia is the surrogate that allowed Penny and I to have Teddy in the first place. She uh, well, she dealt with some personal issues early in life, and decided that she probably wasn't going to have kids of her own, so when Penny and I decided that we were thinking about having a family...she offered. I'll never forget the look on Penny's face when she asked us. He was so hopeful, so happy. It was nice," he then blushed a little. "His parents, were never really supportive. They are devoutly religious, and weren't sold on the idea of their oldest son marrying a man, an American man no less." He shrugged.

"So, things were tense there. It probably didn't help matters that I met Penny when I was in my clubbing, promiscuous phase. I mean, what is a bisexual guy supposed to do when a hot guy in uniform asks to buy you a drink, ya know?" He laughed softly. "Things went surprisingly fast, but...I was never really afraid of being a military husband. He was a marine, and even though he spent a lot of time away from home the first few years, he called regularly and I never expected things to end the way they did."

Quentin took another sip of his drink. "Teddy was born on New Years Day, and it just so happened that Penny flew in to surprise me, so here I am, with Julia about to break my hand from gripping it so hard, and I hear " _Hey! You started without me_!" and promptly fainted on the hospital floor," Q admitted with a laugh of embarrassment. "Julia says that from where she was at, the second I saw him I turned white as a sheet of paper."

Quentin took a minute to compose himself, collecting his thoughts. "He was such a good dad. He took shifts feeding Teddy so I could sleep, insisted on taking care of bath time and taking Teddy out to the park when he was home. Fortunately, they transferred him to a job at a local base, and for a while I thought we were in the clear. I never thought I'd end up as a widower at 30 ya know?" 

He sighed again. "They deployed him during what we assumed was an open-and-shut marine op overseas, but something went wrong. They still won't tell me the details of it because it is classified, but there was a grenade and he apparently threw himself on it to protect his team." Quentin took another sip. "So I did the whole military funeral, I wore his dog-tags for the first few years of Teddy's life. Then of course when I told Penny's parents that I was going to honor his wishes and raise Teddy outside of a religious discipline, they were pissed. They disowned us, decided that they would try and sue me for Penny's military benefits, which backfired on them because I was now a single father raising a five year old by myself." He paused, momentarily feeling that flash of anger all over again. "But I...hit a really low point. Teddy was all I had left, and sometimes I couldn't even look at him, because he looks so much like Penny, the older he gets."

Q shifted in his seat a little. "Julia suggested grief counseling, after a period where my dad had Teddy and I just didn't get out of bed for a week. She practically kicked me in the ass to get help. I was so angry because they wouldn't really tell me why he had to be on that op. I was angry that he left, I was angry that I was alone, and...I was angry at his family for not understanding how important he was to me, and to Teddy."

He met Eliot's gaze again. "I couldn't fathom how I could move on. Everything felt like a betrayal of what had happened. But then people started saying that I needed to find someone, and I worried about Teddy. Because what kind of man would I be if I replaced his dad ya know?

"I intentionally avoided dating, and have ever since...but..." He paused a little. "Julia keeps pushing, and even Teddy notices now I think. So, maybe it is time for me to figure it out. Stop running away and start running toward whatever comes next?"

It was a question, but more a question of Eliot's thoughts on the matter. "It doesn't feel-- okay, I'm gonna get a little personal here, and if it makes you uncomfortable we can blame it on the alcohol." Quentin giggled a little. "Skating with you tonight, and seeing you with Teddy-- it didn't make me feel guilty. It didn't-- I never felt uncomfortable. Maybe I felt too comfortable, but only you can answer that really." He grinned again, his dimples showing, "This isn't me saying that I'm asking you for anything of course. I mean it might be weird of me to say so when we've only known each other a short while but...I guess what I mean is, thank you? I think us meeting and becoming--friends? Or whatever we are now--reminded me of something inside myself I thought I'd lost.”

Quentin gave Eliot a lot to work with. Like _a lot,_ a lot. Eliot wasn't quite sure where to start, but maybe that wasn't his job--maybe his job right now was to just _listen_. He didn't imagine Quentin had anyone new to talk about these things with; Julia and his dad and, to a point, his grief counselor were there from the beginning, or at least near the beginning of this.

It was a different animal: talking about past trauma with someone new after time had passed to process it. Eliot was happy to listen to whatever Quentin needed to say.

Julia sounded great, Eliot made a mental note to introduce her to Margo. Penny sounded great too, but Quentin was a good guy with good taste so he didn't expect anything less. Eliot was about to tell him that it was okay for him to take his time easing into dating because that shit was really, really hard but it seemed that was actually sort of a nonissue.

Figuring out what to say came a little easier.

"First off, I'm really happy that you got help. I know how hard that can be," he said softly, reaching and gently patting Quentin on the shoulder. "I'm really flattered that you feel safe enough to share these things with me. I know that's not easy either and hearing that getting to know me has made you feel something, uh, positive--something really powerful? That's kind of amazing to me, and I'm not sure I could put into words exactly how flattered that makes me feel." He gave Quentin's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "And hey, really I should be thanking you, for being so welcoming and...it really, really means a lot to me. I'm glad that we're getting to know each other you seem--" _like a pretty fucking amazing guy, and beautiful to boot_. Eliot smiled again, "--like a really lovely person. I'm honored that you think of me like that, that I could help you like this. It just makes me more excited to be here with you guys."

Quentin took another sip of his drink. Maybe he hadn't entirely killed the mood like he thought. "Yeah? You're a pretty wonderful guy too, just the past few hours have shown me that. Though I think you don't give yourself enough credit for it," he commented with a gentle smile, reaching over and squeezing Eliot's shoulder gently. "The holidays are usually a weird time for us, but...having you here has shaken that out a bit, I think. Especially for Teddy. I don't think I've ever seen him take to someone as quickly as he did with you."

Quentin made a point to leave out the fact that Eliot was drop dead gorgeous, and Quentin had never been so immediately physically attracted to another man since...well, Penny, if he was honest. It was starting to make old urges and desires sneak out from where he had suppressed them.

"You're very kind to say that," Eliot said softly, taking another sip of his drink. Was Quentin flirting with him? Regardless, the compliment did draw a smile from him, making him realize that the past few hours had him smiling more than he had in the past few days, the past few weeks even.

Oh, this was heading into dangerous emotional territory. Eliot did his best to swallow whatever this was whole and parse it out later when he had some time alone.

Eliot couldn't imagine the holidays being easy for either Quentin or Teddy. He nodded, "I'm glad I can be kind of a buffer. Or a shaker. Honestly this time of year is weird and hard on me too, so the feeling's mutual--this is a nice change of pace." He had some more of his drink, setting down his cup and giggling (actually _giggling_ ) thinking about Teddy, "The kids on the flights, they either love me or hate me. When a kid as great as Teddy actually likes me, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right, cosmically. It's also a huge bonus that he liked me for six hours--that's a long time to fly with someone who hates your guts."

Quentin laughed softly, "Oh, trust me I know. Six hours in a car with Teddy is always a mixed bag, I love taking him camping and on trips, but sometimes with kids, you just are a captive audience." He chuckled. "I think the holidays are rough for a lot of people, they just don't talk about it because if they did, then people would get irritated about the lack of "holiday spirit" which is kinda frustrating." He finished off his drink. "For what it is worth, whether your family is rough, or you're dealing with stuff this time of year...I think you're doing great. You're smart, funny, and you deserve great things this time of year," he admitted, blushing a little. "Oops, I get a little loose lipped when I've had a drink."

Eliot nodded, "I try to be a good audience. I know it must be kind of scary for some of them, I've gotten pretty good at figuring out what they need from me. But yeah, they can be unpredictable too." It was fair though, six hours in a car was hard for Eliot too.

Quentin spoke of the season and Eliot finished off his drink as well, quiet, because he was absolutely right. "Frustrating is a good word for it. It's all so fake sometimes, it's--yeah, it doesn't leave a lot of room for talking about what needs to be talked about. And loose lips are welcome here, I appreciate you saying so, all of that, all of that's really nice. You do too."

Eliot paused a moment, eyes shifting to the counter before going back to Quentin, "Most of my family wasn't ever good to me. They were—it's not polite conversation to get into detail, so I’ll go with _very unkind_ in just about every capacity. Anyway, I haven't talked to any of them in years, probably close to ten now. I moved for college and then I got hired at the agency right after and I just never looked back. I stayed in Seattle but..." He shrugged a little, "...Either way, seeing the love that you have for Teddy and seeing how happy and uh, well-adjusted he is, it's really good energy. It makes me feel like I'm getting something I missed growing up. So thank you, for letting me be part of it." Eliot let out a little chuckle, "Now who's loose-lipped?"

Quentin chuckled softly, getting up to pull the pizza out of the oven. "Well, I think you're a bit entitled to be loose-lipped, I mean we are getting to know each other,” he pointed out. "Also yeah, I know how that goes, my parents got divorced when I was young, and...let's just say Mom didn't want kids," he shrugged. Eliot felt his heart sink into his chest—no one deserved that. "Dad did what he could, but as a single parent things were difficult. So, I went to college to try and make him proud, then of course Teddy came along a few years after."

He looked to Eliot as he set the pizza aside to let it cool. "You're welcome to live vicariously through us for a bit. I mean...I never wanted Teddy to feel abandoned like I felt, and I try to be as present as I can. History kinda repeated itself, but in a different way I guess."

The pizza looked so good, Eliot didn't realize how hungry he was until he saw it. Quentin did good work. Eliot made a mental note to cook a couple of nights for him and Teddy--maybe a cake-y dessert or something too.

"I'm sure you've made him so proud, and seeing how well you've done with Teddy probably just adds to it too. From what I can see, there's a lot to be proud of." Eliot meant it; despite everything, Quentin seemed to be doing really well. "I'm really excited too. I never got to do a lot of the holiday-type things and by the time I was out of the house, December just made me too sad to bother. As for Teddy--if this is overstepping then stop me, but you seem like a great dad. He wouldn't be as delightful as he is if you weren't doing something majorly right."

Quentin blushed again, wondering why it happened so often around Eliot. Maybe he was more smitten than he realized. "I hope so, I feel like I'm winging it half the time, and quite frankly, I envy a two-parent household. Sometimes there just isn't enough of me to go around, you know? Thank the goddess for Julia sometimes," he admitted with a chuckle.

Eliot thought that Quentin's blush was the most adorable thing, immediately making Eliot smile but of course he didn't say anything. "That's so fair, can't be everywhere at once. It's good that Julia has your back and wants to be part of Teddy's life too. I think that's really sweet."

"As for you not getting to do holiday-type stuff, you'll have all you can handle with us," Q grinned. "The classic cartoons, watching me flail around while trying to bake, the advent calendar, making snowmen, plus if the snowstorm does roll in you'll get all kinds of cool experiences there."

Q was just so excited to share all of this with Eliot, which was odd, since he was usually weird and awkward around other people, especially near strangers. Something about Eliot made him relax.

"I can absolutely give you a hand with the baking, I've gotten pretty good at it since living on my own. Cooking too. A New York snowstorm though--Christ, it's been ages since we got most anything of note back home. I know it can get crazy here."

Quentin got an incredibly grateful look on his face. "Oh thank god you can bake," he giggled despite himself. "I try my best every year, but last time I made gingerbread men, they looked more like gingerbread Frankenstein's monsters." He laughed softly. "I don't even know how they got deformed either! Teddy said they tasted good though."

Eliot laughed again, "What happens in the oven is magic sometimes. The taste is all that really matters, anyway. It'll be so much fun, for all of us. I mean, we kicked it off with a really good start ice skating."

"We did kick off with some great ice skating, not to mention great hot chocolate." Quentin grinned, "Between the two of us I think we can manage the oven though, we already make a great skating team when I'm not knocking you over."

Eliot nodded, "I'm pretty sure we can do anything, ice skating is hard. But yeah, it'll be great. I'm happy to help anywhere you need me.”

At Eliot's words, Q's brain immediately went to the gutter: _Anywhere I need you eh?_ he thought to himself. He cleared his throat, "The snowstorm might actually give my fireplace some use too, we can make s'mores and stuff."

Eliot grinned, "Oh, s'mores, I haven't had those in so long. Winter s'mores, I love it." He giggled a little bit, "Oh, um, do you want another one?" He held up his empty glass.

"I could take another drink, yeah, I should probably stop after the second one though." Q shrugged a little. At Eliot's grin, Q chuckled, "Ahh, you're the sweet tooth kinda guy huh?"

"Just one more, promise. I have to sleep pretty soon after pizza anyway, it's been a bit of a day and I don't wanna turn any bit of cranky on you." Eliot took Quentin's glass and happily went to the counter by the fridge, making them each another and putting the gin back in the cabinet.

"Yeah, I'll be heading to bed afterward too. Teddy is an early riser, but I'll try to keep him from being too loud so you can sleep in a little," Q said with a smile as Eliot prepared his drink.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm a heavy sleeper, I can pretty much knock out anywhere and not be disturbed too much unless you're screaming in my ear or something. Oh, um, I might need another blanket though if that's okay, I tend to run a little chilly at night."

Q blushed a bit and was thankful Eliot wasn't watching him at the moment. "I've got plenty of blankets, even an electric blanket or two if you really get cold." He couldn't help but think about how he himself often ran hot, maybe they would be a great match for one another in that regard. _Why was he thinking of this so much? He_ really needed to temper his expectations better.

"Perfect. I think just a regular blanket will be fine, but I'll let you know if I need to go warmer. Thank you," Eliot said. He hadn't used an electric blanket in years but it was nice to have the option.

Eliot handed Quentin a fresh drink, sipping his own. "Sorry, what were we..? _Oh_ yeah, my parents were super weird about sweets in the house so I definitely went a little heavy indulging once I got out and just never really stopped. How about you?"

"My dad has a big sweet tooth, so he was never too fussy, but he did at least teach me moderation," Q answered with a gentle smile.

One of the perks of this time of year was the wide variety of sweets, and Eliot wasn't complaining. "Moderation was always something I had a lot of trouble with," he said, the words coming out just a little more flirty than intended. "So, um, always happy to contribute eating s'mores and other holiday delights."

"Oh just wait, I always end up putting some pounds on after the holidays, so many great desserts. Julia makes this delicious pumpkin spice cheesecake, which...I mean I'm a little basic, pumpkin spice is kind of my jam," he admitted.

A soft chuckle escaped and Eliot sipped his drink a little more, "I'm very excited for the desserts, especially that, pumpkin spice cheesecake sounds incredible. I usually just get the lattes, oh and the bread, there's this amazing little bakery by my place with the best pumpkin bread. I'll have to show you sometime." Eliot smiled thinking of taking Quentin (and Teddy) around the city, showing off the little hidden gems that had come up in recent years. That reminded him, nodding to the pizza, "Should we dig in?"

Q nodded, "Yeah uh, my pizza cutter is broken, and I haven't fixed it yet, so we'll have to use a knife." He chuckled, getting up and grabbing what they'd need.

"If you do the honors I'll get parmesan. Oh, do you do red pepper flakes? Sometimes that's nice," Eliot said, opening the fridge and picking out the cheese.

"Oooh, I haven't tried that yet, but I have red pepper flakes in the spice cabinet on the left, feel free to add some, that sounds delicious." Quentin smiled brightly, and directed Eliot toward the right cabinet. "But yeah, Seattle…pumpkin bread sounds delicious, and I would absolutely love that. I haven't been anywhere in Seattle other than my dad's place, in years if I'm honest."

Eliot was glad that Quentin seemed interested in coming to see him. Maybe he could show Quentin a nice dinner spot too, maybe his house....(maybe he was getting ahead of himself.) "I'll show you everything I know, starting with pumpkin bread. They have it year round too which is so rare. But yeah, we'll have a little Seattle adventure." He grabbed the red pepper flakes, carrying them over to the table and setting them down with the parmesan.

Quentin began cutting the pizza. "I'm going to hold you to that," he grinned, ignoring the voice in his head that suggested he try to convince Eliot to stay. They hadn't known each other very long, It really was too soon for that. He took a sip of his drink, before he decided to try Eliot's idea, putting both parmesan and red pepper flakes on the pizza once he had cut it. "Be careful now, that cheese is lava," he chuckled quietly.

"I'll make sure to be careful, thank you," Eliot smiled, taking a couple of slices and dressing them accordingly. He blew on it before taking a small bite, the cheese indeed being super hot but not too hot to finish chewing and swallowing. "It's so hot but this is so good, thank you for making it."

The rest of their evening was lovely; conversation flowed easily between the duo but silence did as well. There was something about Quentin that made Eliot feel like he could relax which was unfamiliar territory, and he found himself very excited for the coming week.

They ate their pizza, and finished off their drinks, before swapping numbers and heading to bed. Quentin was very careful to make sure Eliot had what he needed before bed, and he found himself drifting off to sleep thinking of their new guest. Eliot crashed right away after changing into a silk blue paisley pajama set. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.


	6. Breakfast with the Coldwaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot has breakfast with the Coldwaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some cute domestic fluff! Next chapter has a magical surprise!

The next morning, Q and Teddy went about their routine, letting Eliot sleep. There were plans in place for the afternoon: Julia was coming over for dinner, but arriving early so they could do some of their usual holiday traditions. So, Q intended to give Eliot some recommendations for shops, so that he could get clothing he needed.

Eliot slept in a little bit, forgetting when he woke up where he was for a moment. A smile crept over his lips when it was immediately made obvious though, and Eliot stretched before easing himself upright on the couch. He checked his phone, _1 new message._

**Bambi** 🌺💅🏽 **(4:47AM):** GET IT 🍆🍆💦

With a snort, Eliot pushed himself off the couch and headed into the kitchen, giving the duo a smile before heading to the coffeemaker, "Good morning."

Quentin was on a bit of autopilot, having been working on breakfast. He kissed Eliot's cheek without thinking (something he always did each morning when making Penny breakfast.) "Good morning--" he started, before he paused and blushed a little, "--uh, sorry. I guess old habits are creeping in again."

 _Fuck, I just kissed his cheek, I mean, I wanted to...shouldn't I feel guilty? Maybe Julia is right, it has been five years, maybe I should figure out my shit._ Q thought in a moment of internal, existential panic.

Truthfully, Eliot was only about half-awake when he came into the kitchen so he didn't quite register the kiss until after it had happened and Quentin was apologizing for it. He smiled warmly, trying not to blush--it really only showed in the tips of his ears, and okay, maybe the apples of his cheeks too but he tried to play cool, "You're completely fine, I totally get it. Uh, good morning to you too, it smells great in here."

Quentin looked to Eliot with pink cheeks, "You hungry? I'm making breakfast for Tedster, so it isn't much different to make a few more eggs, and more bacon."

Of course Eliot wanted more, of course he wanted to take Quentin and just kiss him square on the lips and maybe not stop until dinner time, but he held back because this wasn't some guy at some club whose name and face and everything else would inevitably be lost to time. Quentin was special, and it kind of scared the shit out of him, and he was infinitely relieved that Quentin offered breakfast. "That sounds amazing," he said without thinking, "eggs and bacon are great, thank you so much."

Teddy was at the table, doodling while he drank orange juice. When he saw Eliot he beamed "Good morniiing!" He grinned, "Did you sleep good?! I slept sooo hard!" Teddy grinned, though he was internally quite pleased by seeing his dad get so flustered over Eliot. He liked Eliot, and...well, his dad was so lonely, was it wrong to want some happiness for him?

Eliot took his coffee, sat across from Teddy at the table and returned his infectious smile, "Morning, sweetie. I slept like that too, it was really nice after such a long flight, huh?" He sipped his coffee, sighing happily, and looked over to what Teddy was working on, "What'cha drawing?"

Teddy beamed, showing off the doodle he was working on. "I had a dream last night, that the three of us were adventuring in Fillory, so I'm drawing it! There was a nice little house we lived in and everything!" Most kids had no filter, and Teddy was no exception. He didn't stop to think about the reality of things, he just knew deep down that Eliot and his dad were a great team, whatever that meant.

With a broad smile, Eliot looked over the drawing, listening intently to Teddy's explanation as he did. He took a sip of coffee, pretty sure that it was the nicest picture anyone ever drew of him. "It's beautiful. Looks just like us, makes me wish we really could head to Fillory. I bet we'd have a great adventure," he smiled, having some more coffee.

Quentin chuckled softly. "Well, we'll have to add that to your wall then eh? One day I'm gonna take all those drawings and put them in an album, but I love having them on the walls," he admitted. "Eliot, do you have a preference for how your eggs are cooked?"

It was really cute that Teddy had a whole wall of these kinds of pictures, even better that Quentin seemed to really foster that kind of creativity in his son. It made his heart kind of warm seeing it.

"Oh, um," Eliot paused. _Eggs_. "Scrambled, if that's okay? Ooh, I'll get some hot sauce." He set down his coffee, smiling and heading to the fridge, "Thank you so much for breakfast, Quentin, I really appreciate it."

Neither of them drew attention to the fact that in the drawing (in the corner) Santa was flying overhead, sprinkling what Eliot could only guess, was Christmas magic over them.

"Scrambled is easy enough, that's Teddy's favorite too" Quentin said with a grin, just adding a few more eggs to the pan to scramble them all up. At Eliot's gratitude he blushed a little, "You're very welcome. Also, Julia is coming by this afternoon to hang out for a few hours and help me with decorating the place a bit more. So I was thinking if you want, you can take my car after breakfast and go do a bit of shopping? Then when you get back, maybe we can decorate the tree?"

"Look at that, egg twins. Or--scrambled egg twins," he smiled, taking some hot sauce out of the refrigerator, only taking a few moments to actually find it. Eliot still found it incredibly sweet that Quentin got up and did the breakfast thing; it was clear that this was just how their house was in the morning and there was something extremely new but extremely comforting about it. Hearing the plans for the day, Eliot nodded, smiling some more. "That sounds perfect, shopping won't take me too long. I just need a few things. Thank you for, um, letting me use your car though, that's really sweet." Eliot kind of sucked at driving but he figured he'd be fine as long as he was careful.

While things were cooking up nicely, Q poured himself a cup of coffee as well, taking a sip, "Damn, you make good coffee, El."

Eliot went back to the table, settling back in and smiling just a little bit smugly, "I'm glad you like it, I'll make it for you every morning I'm here."

Q blushed a little, "You and my coffee maker get along way better than I do with the coffee maker." He said with a sheepish smile, before he nodded, "With all the snow outside, and everything, it just makes sense for you to take the car, I'd let you borrow the bike in the garage but it hasn't been worked on in about 6 years"

Teddy grinned and nodded to Eliot "He's right too, the other day Dad made coffee, and the coffee maker threw a fit, it was kinda funny." He giggled a little.

"I aim to please, for comedic affect of course," Q teased Teddy, flipping the bacon over as he finished seasoning the eggs.

"Sometimes I'm very good at communicating with machines, it's like they feel my plane power or something.” Eliot raised his eyebrows at the word bike; Quentin didn't seem like the motorcycle type. Maybe it had been Penny's. That was sweet. "I'll treat it better than my own. My feet appreciate it too." Eliot laughed softly, "It sounds to me like the coffee maker needs to be nicer to your dad." Another little smile, and Eliot was amazed how easy and natural this felt. He tried not to dwell on it too much, "So Teddy, are you excited to get the house all decorated?"

Teddy nodded so quickly he looked like a bobblehead. "I am! We got the big box of ornaments out last week and everything. The tree is gonna look so good when it is all done, and dad is always really great about stringing lights and stuff. It is gonna look amazing!"

 _Aww_ , Teddy was so cute. Eliot was happy that he was looking forward to this so much--being around that kind of excited energy was always a treat. "Oh, I bet. You both have very good taste in your regular house decorations, I'm sure it will look stunning when it's all done."

Quentin chuckled a little. "Thankfully he doesn't judge when I whack myself with a hammer by accident," he teased. "That plane power of yours must come in handy too."

Eliot snorted, shaking his head and sipping some more at his coffee, "I promise, I won't judge you either. And I'll try to use my plane powers only for good."

Quentin smiled at that. "I would hope so, we need a few good superheroes around," he teased playfully, plating up the food, and passing a plate to Teddy before passing one to Eliot as well. "Dig in guys," he grinned excitedly, sitting down with his plate as well.

"You're very sweet to say that," Eliot smiled, trying not to preen from the attention. Cute guys giving him attention was always so good for his ego but coming from Quentin, he felt it five times over. He took the plate carefully, setting it down in front of him and starting in on a few bites before adding a bit of hot sauce, having another bite before making a soft, happy noise, "God, Quentin, this is amazing, thank you so much."

Quentin blushed at that. "My pleasure, though it isn't too special, I'm nowhere near a Gordon Ramsey style cook. I'm very glad you like it though," he added as he began to eat.

The comment that Quentin's food was better than Gordon Ramsey's because _his was made with love_ very badly wanted to come out but Eliot thought better of it, wanting to be a good guest (or at the very least, not scare him off). "They're really good. I never think to make them for myself and if I'm away for breakfast usually I go for an omelette or one of those parfait things at the airport." Those things were lifesavers.

Quentin was a little surprised at how much Eliot was enjoying himself, what sort of life did he lead that no one cooked for him, or showed him a good time at the holidays? It made Quentin a little sad if he was honest. Then it made him think back to time with his dad. Even as poor as they were, his dad always made it special. Then after he moved out he had Julia, and then Penny, and then, of course, he began spending the holidays with Teddy once he was born. "Maybe next year you and Margo can come visit, and we can do another family holiday?" He offered out of the blue, realizing that it didn't bother him to suggest so.

Like everything else, this was a really nice change of pace. Eliot smiled realizing that he didn't have to wake up to a blaring alarm or plan his day off accordingly because of a 6AM flight the following morning. He could just take it easy (a rarity.) Quentin's words broke him out of his little reverie, and he smiled again, "I think she'd really like that, I know I would. Only thing is, she's not as into the snow as I am--she might try to get us to come with her back to Hawaii."

Quentin chuckled softly. "Well, I suppose we could always do a Hawaiian holiday, I've never been, and Dad was talking about taking Teddy next year anyway for a grandfather/grandson bonding trip, so that could work out great."

Quentin had things he wanted to say, but he was still struggling (like Eliot) with not wanting to scare Eliot off, as well as the whole issue of coming to terms with being ready to move on.

"Sounds like good timing. I'll talk it over with her, obviously we can make more concrete plans once it gets a little closer." Eliot knew it should have felt silly to be planning something like this a year in advance (with someone who wasn't Margo) but...he had kind of a good feeling about Quentin and his friendship. Plus, he really wanted a Hawaiian holiday, and he knew that Quentin being in this house without Teddy--even with Julia--was probably going to be tough. Friends took care of each other.

"What's she like?" Teddy asked curiously. "If she's your friend I bet she's awesome like Aunt Julia!"

Eliot smiled at Teddy's question, thinking it over on another bite of eggs, "Margo is pretty awesome, we've been best friends for a very long time. Let's see--she's very pretty, and she doesn't take any--" _ooh, close one_ "--uh, excuses. She's very honest, and very smart. People think she's a little mean but she really has a big heart and cares a lot. Plus if someone's mean to me she kicks their butt which is nice too."

Teddy giggled at that, "She does sound awesome. I knew it!" He beamed. "I can't imagine people being mean to you though,” he added with intense conviction.

Quentin raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I have to agree on that. I might have to kick a butt or two myself if people are mean to you," he said as he continued eating.

Eliot smiled, Margo was definitely going to love these two. "That's very sweet of both of you," he said, having some more breakfast. "I won't stop you from butt-kicking, some people are just jealous, and there's no other reasoning with them." Some people were also _homophobes_ , which he always seemed to run into at work--they didn't usually say anything directly, (though on several awful instances, they did) but Eliot was very familiar with the look, the side-eye, the whispers. Why these people wanted to go to Seattle or Portland or _San Francisco_ of all fucking places, Eliot had no idea.

Likewise, Quentin had a feeling he knew just the sort of people Eliot meant. The same ones that got pissy at him when he was back in his clubbing phase, before he met Penny, "Well, at least here you won't have to deal with too many butts like that."

"Thank God," Eliot laughed lightly, finishing up his coffee and getting up to go for round two. "You're both very kind, I feel very safe from the mean people."

Once Quentin realized Teddy was done eating, he smiled, "Go get a shower and get dressed Tedster, we can't spend all day in our PJ's, at least not today."

"Ok!" Teddy grinned, hugging Eliot on his way out of the kitchen.

Eliot sat back down to finish up after smiling again and hugging Teddy back gently. After Teddy left, Eliot had a bit more coffee before looking to Quentin, "He's very affectionate, that's so nice to see. Oh, uh, will you all be needing anything while I'm out? More lights or more eggs?"

Quentin thought for a moment. "Hm, we might need replacement bulbs if you can find them. It never fails, I buy new lights and they last a year before a bulb goes out. Don't worry too much if you don't end up finding them, just if you see em? If we end up having a snowstorm later this week, I may step out a day or so ahead and get some last minute supplies, but so far the warnings haven't hit yet."

"Of course. I'll keep my eye out. It is that time of year," he smiled, thinking about Quentin putting up lights and...fixing lights. So achingly domestic, it made Eliot's heart hurt a little bit (but decidedly in a good way.)

_At the very least he must be good with his hands._

Eliot mentally scolded himself to get his mind out of the gutter, smiling again and continuing. "That sounds good to me, do you think it's gonna be really bad? I've never done the whole New York in the snow thing."

Quentin shook his head, "I don't think so, though Mother Nature has been a bit testy lately. Climate change and all. I think we'll be fine though, if we have enough time to prepare, which we should, there won't be anything to worry about. New York in the snow is beautiful though. This city is a hot mess most of the year, but this time of year is really special."

"Snowy New York honestly sounds like a dream, I might just have to grab a few selfies while I'm here," Eliot smiled, the new atmosphere invigorating. "Oh, I trust you completely. And I'll do whatever you need me to in the meantime--I guess this is a time when candles come in real handy. Ooh, maybe I'll pick some of those up too, Yule candles and just, uh, regular power outage candles that are still cute." Of course they could still be cute, Eliot would always opt for cute. "But really, whatever you need I'm happy to be an extra set of hands. It's the least I can do, really."

"Well, you are a guest, so I can't work you too hard." Quentin teased Eliot playfully. "But there will be plenty for you to help with, promise." he grinned finishing off his breakfast.

"Please, I'm sure anything you could give me to do would be a walk in the park compared to some of the stuff I have to do at work. Work me as hard as you want."

A minute later Teddy came out of the bedroom, having showered and dressed. "Alright, the shower is open for anyone that needs it! I didn't use all the hot water either, so there should still be plenty."

Okay maybe he was laying it on a little thick but--he _did_ want Quentin to miss him while he was gone for the afternoon and...yeah, okay, he wasn't used to _low-key_ flirting yet. He was happy for Teddy's interruption, and truthfully he wasn't planning on showering but the opportunity to forget he just made that comment was too good to pass up, "You know, that's actually a really good idea, if I'm gonna be trying on clothes I should probably be clean," he smiled to Teddy; the lifesaver that he was. He turned to Quentin, "When I'm out, we can talk clothing stores and their locations and stuff, if that's okay?"

Quentin nodded, "Sounds good to me, I'll have a few options for you, though the shopping center down the way has a ton of great stuff, so you may just decide that you want to poke around and find something for yourself. Sometimes exploring is part of the fun."

Eliot stood to put his cup in the sink, "Thank you again. I'm very excited to explore," he smiled, gently rubbing Quentin's arm. "I'll be out in a bit."

After the morning routine of showering and getting dressed was taken care of, Quentin gave Eliot the keys to the car, and gave him directions to the shopping district, so that Eliot could go get some clothes. 

While Eliot was gone, Q and Teddy started making preparations for decorating later that day. They got the ornaments out of the closet, put the tree together (because it was a fake tree due to Q and Teddy's allergies) and made sure all the lights were untangled and working. Sure enough, they were going to need some replacement bulbs.


	7. A Magical Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot goes shopping, and finds an unexpected storefront

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out of an unexpected idea that we had. Enjoy!

Eliot was doing so well driving in the city and was immensely proud of himself. He hadn't hit anyone or cut anyone off, he even remembered how to parallel park (though, to her credit, Margo talked him through it which helped immensely.)

"You gonna get some leather hot pants?"

"It’s like ten degrees here, Bambi," he said, carefully getting out of the car.

"Oh and they can say something cute on the ass like 'angel' or 'nasty...'"

"Why would I want him to think I have a nasty ass?" Eliot locked the car, looking around at the stores before him. "And I mean I'm not exactly an angel either. That's what's hard, this is like classy flirting, I'm so out of my league." He was walking down the street past cocktail dresses and holiday suits but nothing was tickling his fancy.

"Shut up, you're the classiest guy I know. You make cucumber sandwiches and drinks with French elderflower liqueur in them.”

He paused outside of one store, the mannequins styled almost exactly how he dressed outside of work.

"You know more about wine than anyone I've ever met. You're the only person our age I know who keeps fresh herbs in the house. You remember how many compliments I got when I wore that gala dress you picked out? Face it, you're doomed to be a classy motherfucker, nasty ass and all."

"My ego was boosted four compliments ago, but I really appreciate your thoroughness. I found a place that looks good so uh, I'm gonna go. But thank you, this...I needed this."

He hung up, heading into the store. Eliot was alone except for the incredibly gorgeous man behind the counter. He gave a little wave before heading over to the nicely patterned shirts.

The man behind the counter studied Eliot for a moment, before he slid from behind the counter, walking over and giving a soft smile. "Hi, so, is there something I can help you find? Like for a special occasion...someone new in your life? The holidays do bring unexpected things sometimes. Parties, mixers, etc." The man asked, seeming kind through and through, but also a little odd, in a way that probably couldn't really be explained. He just seemed eager and happy to be there, which was odd for working so close to the holidays.

Eliot couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about this guy. He brushed it off, figuring it was just attraction or something. "Well--I was supposed to go to Hawaii but now I'm kind of here for the next week so what I have packed isn't weather-appropriate. I'm kinda trying to, uh, dress to impress if you know what I mean." He didn't want to get into detail just yet.

"Oh? Well, to be honest, dressing to impress depends on the person you're attempting to impress. I mean you'd look good in just about anything, but to really sell it to the guy or gal, you need to get into the mindset a little." The man looked at a few of the racks. "If it isn't too personal, could you tell me about them? I think I can help you with a… _dynamite_ outfit combo if I have more info."

A soft sigh left Eliot. Usually he was good at this kind of thing, confidence came pretty easy to him once he went to college and had time to cultivate it on his own. And it wasn't that Quentin made him lose it, he just got so nervous. "He's really kind, and funny. He has a son, and it's so clear that he's such a good dad, like just the amount of love in that house, I've never..." Eliot laughed softly, shaking his head and holding out his hand, "Sorry, I'm Eliot."

"William--er, my friends call me Penny" The man answered with a smile, shaking Eliot's hand firmly. "Well, it seems like you're in a great place, I think I can help you find what you need." He added, showing him a few options.

 _Penny_. That was interesting, though Eliot didn't pay it very much mind. "It's very nice to meet you, Penny. The clothes here are beautiful, I have no doubt I'll find what I'm looking for." Eliot wished he could buy all of it, but of course he just needed a few outfits.

"Is this one of those 'I want to impress this guy because I like him' situations, or is it 'I want to impress this guy, because I _really_ like him', situations?" Penny grinned a little, hoping Eliot knew what he meant.

Eliot smiled back, chuckling softly, "I do, really like him. It feels a little...fast, but I don't know, he's just--so nice to be around." He was trying not to blush, turning his attention back to the clothes, "I really like these, what about with a vest?"

Penny hummed, "I like it. I think the blue suits you," he answered. "Time is kind of arbitrary, you know? Like, even if it feels a little fast, as long as you follow your gut instinct, I think things will all turn out okay,” he suggested with a gentle smile, "I mean, life is short. If this guy makes you feel good, and he's as good as he seems from what you've said...you'd be crazy not to go after it with everything you've got."

"I like the blue, too."

Eliot looked to the clothes, then back at the kind man's face and was struck immediately at how his eyes looked so similar to Teddy's. _Fuck, that's weird..._ He blinked, brows furrowing and eyes going back to the nice safe fabric in front of him. "I know that you're right," he started, "I just worry that I'm not--good enough."

Penny chuckled softly, "Everyone worries about that when it comes to a new relationship. Do the best you can, we all deserve a little joy and happiness, so...don't let your fears keep you from chasing yours?" He gave a gentle smile. "Worst case scenario, you try, and you've made an important connection that maybe doesn't work romantically, but I think you owe it to yourself, and to...the guy, to try?"

Eliot knew that Penny was right, especially the part about them being an important connection outside of romance. Romance wasn't everything--hell, there was a point in time where Eliot wasn't sure that he could even _do_ romance. "Quentin. That's his name," he smiled, taking the clothes into his arms, "Okay. I'll give it a shot. But I can't lay it on too thick yet because--well, I'm staying at his house and...I don't want him to feel weird if I'm completely misreading this. Before I go back home though, I'll let you know how it works out." He smiled again, "I'll start with these, can I get your opinion once I put them on?"

Penny nodded once, smiling at the name. He kept things quiet, knowing the magic would be broken if he tried to say anything. "Of course, step into the dressing room as soon as you'd like. Also thank you, I'd love to know how it turns out honestly. Just...remember to relax?"

"Relaxing has never really been my strong suit, but...I can promise you I'll try. I'll be right back," he smiled, heading into the dressing room and carefully putting the new clothes on after taking his own off. It was amazing, everything Penny picked out fit like a glove (which never happened on the first try, as Eliot's pants size in particular could be a little tricky.) He did all the buttons, and put on the blue vest that Penny suggested, smiling at his reflection before coming out, "What do you think?"

Penny looked him over, before he gave him two thumbs up with a bright grin. "You look stunning and I was absolutely right about the blue on you," he answered easily. "Quentin is going to absolutely adore that outfit on you too," he added, knowing for a fact that Q had a thing for well dressed men. "Do you want a few more outfits like that?"

"Thank you, thank you. I do look pretty amazing, don't I?" He smiled, looking himself over in the nearby full-length mirror. "Honestly, I saw you in the window and the mannequins too and I said to myself--he's gonna know how to make me look my best. You outdid yourself, thank you. And yes, I'm thinking maybe--another full outfit, oh, and do you have anything maybe just a little extra fun for holiday dinner? Like with a little bit of sparkle maybe?"

"Ah, I've got just the thing. How do you feel about light sweaters?" Penny asked, grabbing another outfit similar to what Eliot had tried on (but in a purple color) before he looked around for a moment, finding a sparkly green, long sweater that had buttons. It wasn't the typical "ugly sweater" but it was festive and was soft rather than scratchy and itchy.

"How's this? maybe with a pair of pants?"

"I love light sweaters," Eliot said as he checked himself out in the mirror. Everything was extremely flattering, almost like it was tailor made for him, without being too tight. He was still amazed that he was able to find something just like that but, well, here he was. He ran his hands over the fine fabric, looking over to Penny once he'd brought another outfit (and he could tell already he'd love the rich purple on him) and the pretty sweater.

The sweater wasn't like anything he'd ever seen, and he was surprised when he ran his hand over part of the sleeve, finding the fabric to be extremely luxurious. "It's beautiful," he said, smiling and carefully taking the sweater, putting it on over his outfit. It was maybe a little much with the vest, but it fit him like a dream, "Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking."

Penny grinned. "Good, then I've done my job," he answered happily. "That's the thing about a gig like this, most people hate working retail, but I like the ability to show people things that suit them. It's...fulfilling."

"You do your job very well. I'm glad that you really enjoy it," Eliot smiled back. "And it shows too, I look amazing."

"Do you think you'll need anything else? we've got plenty available here. Everything from hats, to soft lounge pants, you name it."

Mentally, Eliot ran through the list of things that were in his bag back at Quentin's place, maybe he could use a few more essentials. "I don't suppose you have pajamas here or like...robes or something? Maybe lounge pants too, just in case."

"Oh! Yeah, we've got all of that. Here." Penny guided Eliot toward another section, which was full of things that were coincidentally perfect for Eliot. Robes, soft sleep pants, plus a few other essentials that he might be interested in. "There's also a shop down the street that sells uh, more...adult, things? If that interests you once you and your guy figure things out."

"Perfect," Eliot said softly, following Penny's lead and heading over to where the other accessories were. It seemed like this place had everything, tailored specifically to his aesthetic--it felt like a fucking miracle. He hummed, picking out a silky robe covered in flowers that wouldn't be too short on him, also remembering that he had Quentin's sweater if he got chilly.

Penny's next words made him giggle just a little bit--the idea of him taking Quentin to a store like that, he wondered how much the other man would blush, "That's good to know, though--I don't think I'll be able to indulge that until later." There was still the whole matter of them actually getting together. Eliot was starting to get nervous again, but swallowed it in favor of touching some very soft pants that looked like they'd be a little tight too. "So how long have you lived in the city?"

"Uh, for a while actually. When I graduated, I left home, and after traveling for a bit, I came here on vacation. I met someone, and the rest is history really." Penny intentionally left out the details about his military service, not wanting to give anything away that might disrupt the whole "magic" of this encounter. "Take it from me, don't waste any time, life is too short to wait around, so if Quentin is someone you want, go after him."

That sounded sweet. Eliot was about to ask more questions, friendly conversation and all, but Penny seemed to be rushing him a little bit. It was fine, Eliot was kind of stalling anyway and he nodded in understanding. "You're right. Thank you so much for all of this. I think I'm good without trying on the lounge stuff."

Eliot smiled and followed Penny to the counter, getting his wallet out as Penny rang everything through, "Hey, uh, there's probably places around here to get gifts right? Seems I have a couple extra people on my list now."

Penny hadn't intended to rush the guy, but he didn't have much time himself. He rang up everything for Eliot, and nodded, "Yup, this whole street is full of great places for gifts. If Quentin is into creative things, check out the craft shop two buildings down. Also, there's a great bookstore across the street that sells all sorts of great fantasy novels, all kinds of books really."

"That sounds perfect. Thank you so much for everything, again."

Penny and Eliot chatted a little longer, before Eliot went on his way with the rest of his shopping.


	8. A Sibling Pow-Wow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter! Julia makes her entrance!

While Eliot was shopping, Q was on the phone with Julia, just chatting while he got things ready. He was nervous about Eliot, and when the conversation drifted to their new guest, he swallowed. "Speaking of Eliot, uh, we should probably talk, because I want your thoughts on something," he then proceeded to explain how they had met Eliot, and how he had gotten into staying with them.

Julia was smiling on the phone with Quentin, listening to him talk in that nervous kind of way about the guy he'd just met. She'd been waiting for her cheesecake to set--it was a smaller one, but she planned on bringing it over to Quentin's place when they saw each other next, probably tomorrow but maybe tonight. Obviously, she was super curious about this Eliot guy, especially as Quentin continued to talk about how they knew each other. Her smile only grew, "Well, it seems like you've got everything under control. How are you feeling about this? The guy but I mean also--your feelings, about your feelings?"

Q sighed softly, "I don't know really. You'll meet him when you come over later. I mean, He's such a good guy Jules, and I...I'm really, I really like him." He paused for a moment, "But am I betraying Penny by considering this? I mean, I feel ready, but there's still that voice in my head saying that I'm doing something wrong here. It feels like my depression talking though, so I've been ignoring it. I think...I think he's perfect honestly. He's great with Teddy, he's smart, funny, sweet...ugh, I've got it bad don't I?"

Julia was so glad the cheesecake was going to be done in half an hour--it seemed like Quentin really needed it. She shifted, humming softly. "I don't think you're betraying him at all. He'd want you to be happy, Q. And if this guy makes you happy, then...it's worth at least considering, right?" Frankly, Julia thought he should fucking go for it, seeing as he hasn't even been able to look at anyone else since Penny's passing. She understood, but he just seemed so lonely sometimes; it broke her heart, hence why she made herself that much more of a presence (besides, raising a ten year old was a handful even _with_ a second parent in the picture.) "You totally do have it bad though, I can hear it in your voice."

Quentin was glad that Julia couldn't see the blush on his cheeks. "I really don't know what I'm going to do about this Jules, I mean...after the holiday he's supposed to go back home. What if he doesn't want to try the whole long-distance thing? What if I've misread the entire situation?" He sighed a little, glad that Teddy was in his room writing another letter to Santa, because he insisted on leaving Santa a thank-you letter with his milk and cookies.

"Listen, if he's as great as you think he is then he understands at the very least how much this must mean to Teddy, right? I doubt he would have taken you up on your offer to stay with them if he wasn't at least interested in maintaining, you know, friendship. I mean--Q, he's a flight attendant, he definitely had hotel connections, missed flight or not. He probably could have even gotten something out of the city that night, but...he didn't."

Julia hoped she wasn't wrong about this, but she planned on giving Eliot a thorough vetting just to be sure. Right now wasn't about that though, Quentin was definitely in need of some extra holiday cheer. "You have some time before he has to go back. Plenty of time I'm sure to get a solid read on what's going on between you two."

Quentin nodded, then realized Julia couldn't see him. "Yeah, there's plenty of time, and...I didn't even think about the hotel thing. That's why you're the brains of this outfit." He teased, chuckling softly. She had lifted his spirits at least, which helped a bit. He worried though, what if he was bad at the whole dating thing? What if Eliot changed his mind somehow and discovered he didn't want Q after all? It was so much simpler when he dated Penny.

"I try," she smirked, getting off her chair to stretch a bit before heading upstairs to make sure she had everything ready to head out to Q's place. "But yeah, I think there might be a reason why you all came together, not to be all fate and destiny and shit." This time of year always brought out weird things in her.

"I'm sure you'll be grilling him for info too," Q teased a little, knowing it was true.

She laughed, grabbing her bag, "I don't grill anyone, I just ask important questions. I'm sure he's gonna have some questions for me too, all of which will be answered happily. Holiday spirit and all." Julia headed downstairs, opening the fridge and testing the cheesecake, "Okay, I'm on my way over with your favorite. Make room for me on the couch."

"Well, you are the one who predicted me breaking my ankle in 9th grade because you said my horoscope said to stay inside. So perhaps I should listen this time." Quentin laughed softly, before he nodded, "We'll be here, I'm working on putting up the lights inside first, so it'll be partly done when you get here." Q grinned, ending the call with her once she was ready, before he went back to prep-work.

"You can't argue with results, Q," Julia laughed, pulling on her boots and then her coat. She looked around one more time to make sure she didn't forget anything, taking the cheesecake, "Perfect, I'll see you soon."

Once she was zipped up and had mittens on, she left and went to Quentin's. He lived close by, the duo never far from each other ever since they were kids. Julia didn't even bother knocking, letting herself in and greeting Quentin with a smile, "Hey! Look what I have!"

Quentin grinned brightly as he saw Julia, "Oh! you've got a cheesecake! You know I love your cheesecake." He kissed Julia's cheek, helping her get it into the kitchen.

Thunderous excited footsteps ensued moments later. "Aunt Julia!!!" Teddy grinned as he hugged her legs tightly. "I missed you! Also I can't wait for you to meet our new friend! Dad really likes him," Teddy beamed.

"Of course. But we have to wait for your special guest before we break into it." She winked, handing it off to Quentin to put in the fridge, as her legs were almost immediately occupied.

Julia smiled broadly leaning down to pull Teddy into a big hug, "Hi, sweetie! I missed you too!" They saw each other all the time but Julia thought it was adorable all the same. "Oh really?" She smirked to Quentin, "Why don't we have some cookies and you can tell me all about him?"


	9. Dinner and Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the Coldwaters is a new experience, that gives Eliot and Julia a chance to feel each other out, while also giving Eliot a taste of a family far different from his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter picks up right where the last left off. It might seem abrupt, but we didn't have a better place to split the chapter. Hope y'all are enjoying this!

"Oooh cookies! That sounds awesome! Oh! We should do the Advent Calendar when Eliot gets back too!" Teddy added, clapping excitedly.

Quentin chuckled. "Sure kiddo, that sounds good. I hope he hasn't gotten lost in town, He's been gone a while," he said with a shrug, checking his phone before he put it in his pocket.

"Sounds like cookies are a good place to start," Julia smiled, patting Teddy on the head gently. "Let's go get some!"

She followed Teddy to the kitchen, looking to Quentin and humming, "You said he was clothes shopping, right? Maybe he's picky. Or...maybe he's present shopping." Julia went to the Tupperware of cookies, grabbing a couple and sticking them on a paper plate, patting Quentin on the shoulder as she walked by, "You could text him just to make sure? Don't want him to be lost, of course."

Quentin nodded "I'll send him a text real quick, see if he needs directions." He agreed, kissing Julia's cheek, before sending Eliot - " _Hey, just checking in, let me know if you get lost out there, I can guide you where you need to be - Q"_

He then grabbed a cookie for himself, nibbling a little while he watched Teddy snacking happily.

Julia smiled; Q had always been so affectionate, it made her feel right at home. He was a good quasi-brother, she hoped deeply that Eliot was as good as he seemed to be. She took another cookie, checking her phone while Quentin texted the other.

Eliot got back to him within a few minutes, " _sorry for the wait! got a little sidetracked but i'm on my way now_." There was a couple more minutes before a follow up text, " _did you all need anything else while i'm out_?"

Quentin checked his phone "Uhh, do we need anything else from any of the shops?" he asked Julia, who shook her head:

"No, I think we've got everything. Though if the snowstorm blows in like they're saying we'll have to get supplies for that."

Q nodded. "Okay, we can prep for that when the time comes," he smiled, texting Eliot back: " _Nope, all we need is you, Julia made a cheesecake for us to share this evening, i've just got to figure out what to do about dinner."_ He added a few smiling emojis to the message just for flavor.

" _you're very sweet. i'll be back soon, please feel free to start without me if you're hungry."_ Eliot was taking a bit of time driving, not wanting to hurt anyone, or Quentin's car. It took several minutes, but he did manage to get back in relatively good time.

Eliot didn't exactly want to divulge what he'd been up to, racking his brain for a decent excuse for his lateness--but then he remembered that it was the holidays and he could blame crowds and traffic and finding the perfect gifts, which he was pretty sure he did. He closed the car door behind him, humming and taking the bags inside.

Quentin excused himself to help Eliot with the bags, but before he could say anything, Teddy and Julia were not far behind.

"Hiii," Eliot smiled, happy immediately for the help, though making sure to only hand over bags that had clothes or the replacement bulbs. He grabbed a couple of bottles of sparkling wine while he was out too--just in case. Eliot always had it in the house; one never knew when there was going to be something to be celebrated, and given the time of year it felt fitting. Plus he wanted to be a good guest. "I'm very excited to see that--the tree, more than the popcorn."

"Welcome back!" Teddy grinned, before Julia walked over and grabbed the bag with the replacement bulbs "Oh! good, we were just about to get started with the tree. You'll get to see how hopeless Quentin is at stringing popcorn." Julia teased with a smile, before extending her hand, "I'm Julia, I've heard a lot about you, from the little man...and the big one." She giggled a little.

Eliot stuck the bag with the presents right beside his weekend bag, taking her hand and shaking it, "Only good things, I hope. Eliot Waugh, it's really nice to meet you. I've also heard a lot from uh, the big and small guys."

Julia smiled, though his last name did trigger some form of recognition in her head. _Where had she heard that name before?_

"Did you have any trouble out there? I know sometimes if they forecast a snowstorm in the coming days or weeks, people tend to go a bit bonkers on the roads, even if it isn't confirmed." Quentin asked with a smile as they helped Eliot unload.

"There was maybe a little bit of trouble but not too much. Honestly, my driving skills aren't top notch so...I was trying to be very careful. How were things here?"

"Things have been good, I've got the meat for dinner thawing, so in a few minutes I'll have to start on that and get everything in the oven so we can start doing decorations. I did manage to get some of the outdoor lights up, though I think you probably saw that already," Q chuckled a little.

"It looks beautiful outside," Eliot smiled. He did always love Christmas lights, even if the holidays themselves didn't ever do a whole lot for him. Something about being here was...really nice though, and brought him into a kind of unprecedented holiday spirit (or something like it.)

"Q mentioned you don't often have family holidays, so I hope you're ready for a Coldwater Christmas." Julia teased, smiling warmly, "Also don't worry too much, driving skills or not this city is a pain to drive in."

Eliot smiled at the notion of a _Coldwater Christmas_ , laughing a little bit, "I appreciate that, all of it. Quentin's been so kind to me, inviting me in like this. My family wasn't ever--it's kind of complicated. But yeah, it's been a while since I didn't spend holiday vacation at the airport." Or sound asleep from weird shifts, or laying on Margo's floor drunk on peppermint schnapps. Then he remembered, "Oh, Quentin, that reminds me, I can help with dinner if you need an extra set of hands."

Julia chuckled softly. "Family is complicated, I completely understand. My parents are...well, let's just not go there," she laughed again, smiling sympathetically. "Q is a special sort of guy, I wasn't at all surprised when he told me he invited you, and personally I like the idea of having another friendly face around."

At the mention of Eliot helping with dinner, Q smiled softly "Are you sure? I mean you are a guest, I couldn't really ask you to pitch in with that, especially since you're going to be helping with decorating."

"Oh! Dad, can we start on the tree decorating while dinner is being worked on?" Teddy asked with a bright smile.

Q grinned, "Sure kiddo, but you should go wash up first, eh?"

Eliot smiled bigger, nodding, "I'm completely sure, I'd love to." Eliot was actually pretty good in the kitchen, and would happily take the excuse to show off. Teddy spoke up and it made Eliot giggle, "See, we'll have plenty of help for decorating."

Eliot paused a minute as Teddy went to wash up, looking to Quentin, "So, what's on the menu for tonight?"

"Well, that is actually a good question. I was thinking of making my dad's beef roast recipe since I have a roast thawing, but we could technically cook that tomorrow night so that we'll have sandwich meat in case of a snowstorm. Alternately, I've got a ham in the fridge we can do a maple glaze on and maybe serve with potatoes? I'm open to suggestions, I'm a fairly indecisive cook."

Julia giggled a little, "That's definitely the truth. I could tell you stories about the first time he cooked dinner for Penny." She smirked, cackling as Q blushed and gave her a playful glare.

Eliot shook his head, super curious but also not wanting to make Quentin too uncomfortable. Maybe he could steal Julia later and hear about it. "Hey, I can work with indecisive. And I bet he loved whatever you cooked for him, unless it was anything like the first time I cooked in my dorm kitchen. I was that asshole who set off the fire alarm."

"He would have, except I mixed up the garlic powder with garlic salt, oh and I may or may not have burnt up a stand mixer trying to make a fancy dessert," Quentin admitted sheepishly.

Julia smiled sympathetically, "To Penny's credit, he ate a few bites and then promptly accepted Q's offer to order pizza instead. It was very sweet."

"Honestly, color me impressed--I didn't think burning up a stand mixer was even possible. It sounds like you really tried though; and that's what's important. But I'm glad you were able to have some pizza too." Poor Quentin.

Julia laughed, which made Eliot smile as he snuck past Quentin and patted him on the shoulder before getting to the fridge. He was after water, planning on opening up the champagne once dinner was at least almost ready. "Why don't we do ham, and then we can save the roast for tomorrow like you said? Can't have enough snowstorm-friendly options just in case. Plus, I’m pretty good at peeling potatoes."

At Eliot's suggestion, Quentin nodded a bit. "The ham will take less time, and I can put the roast in the slow-cooker in the morning: that is a great idea." He let Eliot join him in the kitchen while Julia and Teddy began getting the ornaments out of a large Tupperware container they stored them during the other 11 months.

Penny sounded like he was such a sweet guy. Eliot felt a tinge of something like guilt despite the nice man--the other Penny--from the store: telling him that he needed to seize the day. Then, Eliot heard Julia and Teddy's joyous voices in the living room, the whole scene making his heart warm. Eliot put the guilty feelings away from him, tuning back as Quentin explained dinner, "Excellent. Should I start on the potatoes? Or do you want me to do the glaze?"

"Honestly? Can you help with the potatoes? I've got a shoulder injury that never really healed properly, so peeling with my left hand is usually a pain," Quentin admitted quietly, blushing a little bit.

"Yeah, of course. Like I said, I’m very skilled at potato peeling." Eliot said warmly, getting himself set up and then digging in (so to speak.)

"So, uh, you don't have to tell me of course, but...was traffic all that kept you away today? If you just needed space I understand," Quentin commented after a pause.

The question didn't surprise him, he just wasn't really sure how to answer, "It wasn't just traffic but it wasn't uh, that either. I bond fast, I was actually kind of itching to get back here but I...had to check something out first." He went on with his peeling, taking a moment to decide if he was actually going to say something about where he was but deciding ‘ _fuck it._ ’ "I had two older brothers. The oldest of us, Jeremy, he was the one I actually got along with. Came out to him and everything. He left for college when I was young, my parents didn't let me come see him, I think he told them off, said he was leaving for good. So when I was driving back, I noticed I was passing the neighborhood he said he'd probably be in and it was a long-shot, but I had to go see if maybe...maybe there was any sign of him? I wasn't successful, but I didn't really think I'd be."

Quentin raised an eyebrow at the revelation. "So, you have family here? We can look for him some more while you're here? Family is important," he commented, feeling sad for Eliot. "I mean, even when family is complicated...they still matter, the good ones at least. I should know, I've been trying to keep Penny's parents away from Teddy. I know enough about them to know I don't want them trying to push their shit on him. With that being said, there are others in that family, like Penny's brother, that I've introduced Teddy to. They're more...open minded."

Eliot didn't want to be messing up Quentin's holidays with something like this but, he also seemed kind of _into_ the idea? And at the very least, it'd be easier with another set of eyes. Hell, maybe Quentin knew where to find archival stuff that could be of use. Addresses weren't usually published but...worth a shot. "I feel kind of weird asking that of you, when you've already done so much," Eliot said, "but I also know you're right and I'm not totally sure I'd be able to find him on my own. So, maybe if you don't mind, we could give it a shot?"

"Eliot, I could say a number of things about you feeling weird, but I'm just going to lead with…family isn't always blood." he shrugs "You're here, and Teddy and I are both so happy to have you. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have my misgivings at first, but...seeing you interact with Teddy, and me, and Julia..."

Quentin paused for a moment as he focused on measuring out the ingredients for the glaze, before he smiled softly. "Family is family and if you're not ready to be adopted yet, tough shit because we're doing it anyway,” he grinned. "Also, uh, yeah. We can start figuring out where he lives, you said you knew the general neighborhood, right? Jeremy Waugh...huh, that name actually sounds familiar, I just can't place it. Maybe it'll come to me."

Eliot was able to peel, listen, and reflect, though maybe less on the reflecting part for fear of cutting himself. He knew Quentin was right, and he appreciated the compliments all the same. Eliot stayed quiet, peeling away and wondering how he got so lucky.

He only looked up when Quentin spoke again, chuckling softly to himself and moving onto the next potato. Already, he'd made quite a bit of progress. "I appreciate that. All of this, of course, everything you and Teddy have done. Thank you. Being adopted would probably be good for me." He chuckled a little bit, though deep down he was thrilled. "Yeah, it's actually not too far from here. That's kind of all I've got for you, he probably would have come into town like, I don't know, fifteen or so years ago? I was pretty young, huh, hopefully he's still here."

"Hm, fifteen or so, that makes him a comfortably steady resident. So, it shouldn't be hard to pin down where he is, especially with social media. Have you tried checking Twitter or Facebook for his profile? Maybe he has a general description of his home?" Q was trying to ponder possible leads. "Regardless, we'll find him. Even if he has moved on, there are plenty of resources at our disposal."

Eliot nodded, "He wasn't ever much of a Twitter guy, and he keeps his Facebook profile really under wraps: not much more than a few profile pictures. Honestly, the idea of sending him a friend request just...made me so anxious." He worried that Jeremy would have rejected him and just--dealing with that on top of everything else would have hurt too much. "Maybe we can take another look later though. Maybe after a glass of that sparkling stuff I'll find some extra confidence."

Quentin nodded "We don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable, but I think reaching out is a great idea. Better late than never right?" He smiled softly, finishing up the glaze before he began trimming some of the excess fat off the ham. "I really wish the butcher would trim these more, our local meat market is bad about keeping things too fatty."

"I'll give it a little bit of thought. I mean--the worst he can say is 'no', right? But yeah, that's kinda what I'm thinking too." Eliot was almost done, and glad that Quentin wouldn't have to aggravate his injury in the name of being a good host. That wouldn't have mattered to Eliot anyway, but he understood. "Some people are very into the fatty meat thing, I never understood that. It's not something I like having in my mouth, you know?"

Quentin couldn't help but snicker at that "You prefer a bit of lean meat hm?" He teased playfully, his cheeks slightly pink as he chuckled softly. "I know the feeling though, it is a texture thing for me, that and a ‘I don't want to be up all night with heartburn’ thing."

Eliot was about to protest that no, _all_ bodies are beautiful but it was clear that Quentin was fucking with him and a laugh softly bubbled out of him, "I completely get that, if I'm gonna be kept up all night, I don't want it to be because of meat-related heartburn." Eliot's eyes betrayed a mischievous little twinkle, setting the last peeled potato with the others.

Quentin couldn't stop the giggle that escaped him. "Ugh, I haven't been kept up all night like that in years, " he admitted with a slight smile. "Though I suppose my ho-ing days are over now that Teddy is getting older."

"Oh really?" It came out of Eliot's mouth before he could stop himself, but he quickly cleared his throat. Eliot shook his head, "Sorry, I--I was just gonna say that Margo and I have a few pretty good leads on, uh, ho-ing locations if you're looking for a last hurrah. Last ho-rah. I've been kind of trying to slow my roll myself." Mentally Eliot scolded himself for admitting his sins but--hey, they were all friends here now.

"Well, I'll tell you exactly what I tell Julia when she talks about clubbing and going out. A little ho-ing never hurt anyone if you're being careful." He grinned, "As for that, Margo sounds like fun, I can't wait to meet her sometime, though I do respect the desire to slow the ho-ing down a bit….” Quentin shrugged, taking the glaze and pouring it over the ham, adding a few extra flavoring things (like onion and garlic) to the pan, before he looked to Eliot. "Do you think we should cook the ham and the potatoes separately? Or roast ‘em all together?"

"I try to be careful," Eliot definitely had his fair share of ho-related injuries though; falling down unfamiliar stairs, various unremembered bruises. All in good fun. Eliot smiled at the idea of Margo and Quentin meeting, finding himself looking forward to it. He was so grateful for the change in subject, nodding, "It might be nice to do them separately, for flavor diversity? I'm not super partial either way though."

“I think you're right, doing them separately sounds good. The real question is, do we roast them, or do something else with them? I've got a fryer, we could be bad, and fry them up real nice," Quentin suggested, unsure what the best way of going about it would be.

Eliot hummed in consideration before smirking again, "Let's be bad, it's the holidays so we're allowed to be bad. Would you like me to cut these guys up?"

Eliot's words made Quentin smirk a little. "I'm always down to be a little bad. I'd say cut em into wedges, that way there will be plenty to go around.” He offered, "Besides, if one of us gets hungry at 2 AM we can munch on the leftovers." He laughed softly, having been guilty of that before.

"Looks like that's something else we have in common," Eliot smiled, getting up to grab a sharp knife for the potatoes. "If you want to be really bad, you can put some cheese on there too. A very good 2 AM snack if I ever had one." As he passed Quentin, he couldn't help a gentle little touch to his shoulder before getting the knife and going back over to the table, "What kinds of things do you usually like to cook, when it's not holiday time?"

Quentin smiled a little, "Well, we have a few staples that I cook regularly that are quick and easy. A delicious beef stew, some great burger recipes, mac and cheese. Usually, I cook big meals for the week and then we just eat whatever we feel like each day, but sometimes, like this week, we deviate and spice it up."

"That sounds really good, I haven't had a proper mac and cheese in so long," Eliot said softly. Sometimes he cooked for himself, but he was guilty more often than not of grabbing something or ordering in. He just didn't have the energy.

"Really? Well, we'll have to fix that then," Q answered playfully. "I make a mean mac and cheese, or at least Teddy thinks so." He chuckled a little, working on getting things ready so they could fry up the potatoes.

"I'd love to try it, I bet it's really good. Teddy has good taste. Do you usually do anything fun spice-wise with your mac and cheese or do you usually just keep it basic?"

"Well, sometimes I do the baked version with crushed potato chips on top. Other times I spice it up a bit, and add extra cheeses," Quentin explained as he started frying down the potatoes, making crispy potato wedges out of them. "It usually depends on how many people I'm making it for. If it is just Teddy and I we go the potato chip route."

"Now that sounds really good. The potato chips and the extra cheeses," Eliot was trying to think--when was the last time he even _had_ mac and cheese? He watched as Quentin started in on the potatoes, looking him over with a little smile, "Would you like me to break into the champagne, or wait for dinner?"

"Go ahead! I think we've earned a little celebratory adult beverage. Besides, I actually have something to toast to this year," Quentin grinned, knowing he would be a total cheeseball toasting to having Eliot with them for the holidays.

"Perfect, I think I agree," Eliot smiled, heading over to the fridge to get a bottle of the champagne, carefully opening it before reaching and getting a couple of glasses, "I'll let you toast, unless you want to save that for when we're at the table. Either way, cheers." Eliot smiled as he poured them each a modest glass, figuring Quentin would want to wait until at least dinner before getting heavier with the bubbles.

"Cheers indeed! To new beginnings!" Quentin took a sip of his champagne. There would be a better toast later on at the table, but, for now, this would do.

"To new beginnings." Eliot sipped his as well--he knew the brand, the taste familiar. It was usually his go-to for special occasions and this, of course, more than warranted it.

Quentin poked his head out of the kitchen, "Jules, the food is almost done, also, do you want a glass of champagne?"

Julia looked up, "Oh! Sure, we'll get to a good place to take a break, and then come eat. I'd love a glass."

Eliot heard the exchange, moved to the cabinet to get another glass for her, and smiled at Quentin when he came back in, "I'm on it." He kind of loved hosting, usually taking on that role whenever he was among company.

Quentin watched Eliot take a sip from his glass, "Thank you. So, have you heard from your friend Margo? How is her holiday going so far?"

"She's doing really well, we talked on the way to the store. It's warm and sunny there with lots of boozy smoothies and Polynesian cuisine," Eliot smiled, pouring Julia a glass of champagne. "She actually helped me parallel park when I was over there."

Quentin smiled and nodded, "That's cool. I was thinking perhaps, if you wanted, while you're here sometime, if she calls, maybe we can meet her and wish her a happy holiday? Penny worked in Hawaii for a deployment at his local base, so I know a little bit of the Hawaiian customs. We can surprise her a bit.”

By the hour, Quentin found himself more and more enamored with Eliot. Maybe it was being celibate for five years, or maybe it was just Eliot's magnetic personality. Either way, a once dormant part of him was starting to stir.

Eliot nodded, "I'm sure she'd love that. She's actually really excited to meet you and Teddy. I'm almost positive she'll be calling me tomorrow night and I'm sure she'd love to hear what you have to say about Hawaii. Seems like she's having a blast." Eliot still felt a little bit bad that he wasn't able to join her, but ultimately, being here was maybe where he needed to be anyway.

Naturally, he was incredibly attracted to Quentin--he was from day one, but the more he thought about him the more intrigued he was. Hell, it seemed that Quentin even got cuter by the day. He tried to put anything lascivious out of his mind but that didn't mean the thoughts weren't still there. "How long do you think it'll be until everything's ready?"

Quentin was about to answer when the oven began to beep. "Well, looks like the ham is done. If I can fry up a few more of these wedges we'll have enough for everyone. Would you mind starting to set the table while I finish up? There are plates in this cabinet here.” He pointed out where the plates were, as well as cups, and silverware. He then poked his head out again, "Dinner's almost ready, we're just setting the table now," he told Julia and Teddy with a gentle smile.

It felt like Eliot was unable to stop smiling, heading to the cabinet as Quentin worked. Easily, he set the table for the four of them, also putting out his, Julia’s, and Quentin's champagne, putting out the bottle as well just in case. Eliot also got everyone water.

Julia had managed to get the lights and tinsel completely on, with Teddy's help. She let Teddy start unpacking some of the ornaments too: everything was just about set for the popcorn garland and the baubles. "Sorry, that took longer than I thought. I put the strands of lights on backwards the first time--can't plug them into the ceiling, you know?" She laughed softly, taking her place at the table as Eliot gave the finishing touches.

"You're just in time," Eliot smiled, turning to Teddy, "Did you want anything to drink besides water, sweetie?"

Teddy smiled brightly at Eliot. "Water's okay, though I may grab some grape juice out of the fridge later," he answered Eliot with a smile, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Okay," he smiled, patting Teddy on the shoulder gently. The little kiss made him smile, and he finished getting everything ready before sitting down at the table.

Quentin chuckled at Julia's comment, "Outlets on the ceiling would be interesting, but yeah, that doesn't work very well." He chuckled, carving the ham and helping get portions doled out to everyone before he sat down with his own plate. "So, normally we don't say grace or anything, but since we've got Eliot here with us this year, I'd like to propose a toast. It isn't all that often that we meet people who fit in our crazy little family, but you Eliot: you fit perfectly. So, here's to new beginnings, and making new traditions."

Quentin's toast made Eliot smile all over again, raising his glass, "Cheers, there's nowhere else I'd rather be by a long-shot." He meant it, of course, though mostly he was distracted by an excited, unfamiliar thrumming in his chest as he clinked glasses. "I'd like to counter-toast to Quentin though, for welcoming me with open arms. It means a lot, really."

Quentin blushed a little, "What can I say? It just felt right.” He shrugged, clinking glasses before Julia giggled a little.

"Q has always been that way,” Julia said, “He just kind of goes with his gut, I guess. Every time he tried to date on purpose it was a mess, but Penny fell into his lap, and now you're h--"

"Okaaaay, changing the subject now!" Quentin said quickly, blushing bright red.

 _None_ of that slipped past Eliot, but he left it alone of course, deciding to instead revel in the sight of Quentin's blush.

Eliot gave a knowing smile, waiting an agonizing moment before sipping his champagne, "You know, the bubbles go so nicely with the lovely meal Quentin did most of the work on. I swear I didn't plan it. I do have to say that these potatoes are cut so evenly, too."

Quentin chuckled. "You helped plenty, and you saved my shoulder from getting worn out from peeling," he answered with a gentle smile, sipping his champagne and eating carefully.

"Perhaps I'll recruit you to give me a hand with the desserts tomorrow. " Julia teased playfully, "Gotta say Q, if he's handy in the kitchen you might do well to keep him arou---"

"Juliaaaaa!" Quentin groaned, while Teddy giggled in amusement.

"I'm really glad that I could be useful," Eliot smiled, internally just about preening at the praise. He was finding that he loved praise from Quentin, but tried not to think too much on that, especially at the table. He started on his food, happily sighing around it. Another little smile crossed Eliot's features at the mention of helping to do dessert the next day, and maybe even more so at Julia's vote of confidence, "Honestly I'd love to help with dessert tomorrow, I do know a thing or two around the kitchen. What are you thinking of doing? I heard legends about your cheesecake."

Julia blushed and giggled a little, "Well, we definitely need to make more Christmas cookies since some sneaky little bandit--" she grinned toward Teddy, who did finger-guns and a sneaky smile “--wiped em out with the help of a much larger bandit," She grinned at Q who shrugged a little.

"We've got that gingerbread house kit we could all fiddle with too," Quentin pointed out. "Though I'm a much better carpenter than I am a gingerbread house builder."

The conversation between them made Eliot feel so at ease. It hadn't been like this in a long time--with Margo, sure, but even when he was just hanging out with his close acquaintances it never felt like this. Maybe, because they were just close acquaintances, and Quentin and Julia were something firmly in the realm of friends.

Eliot didn't have many friends. Margo was something closer. Maybe these were Eliot's only _real_ friends. The thought didn't make him nearly as sad as he would have predicted.

"That sounds like such a treat. Your gingerbread house building skills notwithstanding--there's three of us, I'm sure we can work it out so it stands upright," Eliot smiled. "This is one thing I actually do have experience with. In college we…well, it didn't look great, but it tasted good and it stood up. That icing doesn't like to stay neat." They were also pretty shitfaced when they started on it, but Quentin probably didn't need to know that.

Quentin giggled a little at that, "Yeah, last time Jules and I did it, I accidentally made the icing a bit too thin, so it looked like a little shanty-shack."

"Oh! But this year, I bought some extra gumdrops and candy for decorating it!" Julia grinned excitedly. "Between all of us, we're gonna do a great job!"

"Yeah!" Teddy grinned, having finished off his food.

Eliot smiled broadly, "We can definitely do it. I have complete faith in the four of us. It'll be perfectly Instagram-able, if you're into that."

Quentin finished up too. "Hey Jules, I think I'll get started on the popcorn stringing, would you mind tackling the dishes?" He asked softly, "Or I can wash em all in the morning."

After a few more minutes, Eliot was just about done as well, giving Julia a little smile, "I can help with the dishes too. It'll be super quick with the two of us, and then we can move onto the tree." Truthfully, Eliot wanted to talk to Julia a bit--she seemed really nice, and he wanted a little more insight on Quentin anyway. Plus, he figured it would be good for Teddy and Quentin to have some time together, especially with him in the house too.

Julia smiled and nodded, "Sounds good, I'd like to get to know you better anyway." 

"Alright then, come on kiddo, We'll go get started on the ornaments and stringing popcorn. How's that sound?" Quentin asked Teddy, who was already up out of his chair.

"I'm ready!" Teddy grinned.

With that, Quentin and Teddy left Eliot and Julia to the dishes, and the two talked in the living room while they worked on things.

It was a good sign to Eliot that Julia seemed to have the same idea. He didn't normally get romantically involved with anyone due to the nature of his job, but the few times he tried he found that his partner was always put off by how close he was with Margo. Eliot assumed that wouldn't be an issue with Quentin, given how close he and Julia were-- _not that he was looking for anything anyway_! But at the same time, he knew Margo would give Quentin the same treatment Julia was giving him now, dating notwithstanding.

Eliot put the thought away in favor of taking the dishes to the sink. He gave Julia another little smile, "I can wash if you dry?"

"Sounds good to me," Julia answered softly, stepping over next to him. "So…” She glanced behind her to make sure that Q wasn't snooping. "I wanted to mention a few things, just between us, and I figured you might have some Q-related questions that you might want answered." She chuckled softly, though immediately became serious.

"Of course. Whatever you need to say, yeah." Eliot dug into the dishes as Julia began explaining:

"So uh, first off, you should know that Quentin is in therapy, and has been for about four and a half years." She commented with a shrug. "He hit a really low period after Penny passed. He has always struggled with depression, self-worth issues, that sort of thing, but...after Penny, it got worse. He never tried to die or anything, because of Teddy, I suspect, but healing has been a long road for him." At Eliot's look she chuckled a little. "For what it’s worth, I think you're good for him. This time of year is hard for him because of the memories he shared with Penny but he has smiled more with you here than in the past three years combined, at least. I just...as someone who loves him dearly, it takes a special sort of guy to work their way past his walls. He isolates himself to prevent getting hurt again, which is why he hasn't dated. With you though, he's not so...wound up?"

It was a lot, but not all of it was unexpected. Arguably most of it was pretty expected. Grief was a messy, messy thing and Eliot understood self worth issues better than most. He wasn't put off by any of what Julia told him, though his face must have dropped a little when she mentioned him keeping himself alive for Teddy alone. That was a blessing though, of course.

"I really appreciate you telling me this,” Eliot said, “And...hearing you say that I've made him happier this time of year than usual. That's really--that kind of means a lot, it's been a really long time since I've made someone happy, even just on a...really-close-friend-type level. Between you and me, but yeah, uh..." He trailed off, humming as filler as he thought out what he wanted to say: "I get it, the isolating thing. I do that pretty frequently myself. Quentin's in safe hands, regardless of where this goes. I know I haven't known him that long but I really don't want to hurt him if I can help it."

Julia chuckled softly. "I'm normally not the one to advocate for things moving quickly, but..." She glanced over her shoulder, "Teddy likes you, and I've not seen Q this smitten in a long time. So, I wouldn't worry too much about that. He likes you, and you seem like a pretty great guy. Though I probably should mention that if something comes of this and you hurt him, I'll have to catch a flight to you and sparta-kick you out at 100,000 feet." She teased playfully.

She didn't let that linger long before continuing, "I can't help but notice that you seem a bit lonely yourself. Maybe...maybe Q's just as good for you, as you are for him?"

Eliot thought on her words a moment. It was always so easy for him to run away whenever shit felt like it was getting too real, but this...this felt different. He was still a little bit stuck on the idea of maybe not being good enough for him, but there wasn't any fear present the way that there always was every other time he liked someone a little too much.

His head was spinning a little bit. Mentally, he talked himself through focusing on one thing at a time. "Being a flight attendant doesn't exactly make the dating thing easy, or...even the friendship thing easy." Eliot shrugged, "I've lived alone basically since college--I had roommates when I moved off campus but it wasn't the same, they didn't like me very much after a while. Either way, being here's just so different from maybe anywhere I was before, it's bringing up some feelings I didn't realize I had."

"Good feelings, I hope?" Julia answered with a gentle smile. "I know what you mean though, Q and I have been friends since childhood, but for a while we lived pretty far apart, and when we reconnected I was...not in the best place," she explained. "Q has a way of working his way in and reminding you of things. It’s like his superpower or something."

"Overall good feelings but...maybe a little complicated. Being here is really nice though. You and Quentin have both been really good hosts, you've made me feel very welcome and that's really nice." He smiled at the notion of Quentin having superpowers; it wouldn't even surprise Eliot, he was a pretty amazing guy.

"Just remember that Q is not going to judge you for being nervous about this. Hell, you're not getting any judgment out of me either."

Eliot nodded, "I'm kind of glad I'm not the only one nervous. And thank you, that makes things easier too. I was hoping you'd like me," he smirked, starting in on the cups.

Julia chuckled a little and nodded. "I had a feeling I would, but then again, Quentin is a great judge of character, so I knew you'd be a cool guy." she smiled and started putting the dishes that had been dried away, before starting on the cups Eliot had washed.

Eliot smiled, his heart picking up at the idea of someone so good and lovely picking him out as someone worth knowing. That was...nice. "That's really flattering, between you and Quentin my ego's gonna be the size of Santa's sleigh." Maybe he was getting into the spirit. "I'm afraid that you've answered all the questions I could have had about him though so, uh, thank you for being thorough."

Julia chuckled softly, "Well, sometimes I feel like I know Q better than he does himself. So, I'm glad to help. Just...remember that every bit of love he gets, he gives back ten times or more. He's probably one of the best, most loving people I've ever met. Well, Teddy is shaping up to be just like his dad." She grinned proudly.

"Being here has made me feel so loved," Eliot said softly, giving her another little smile. "I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like him, and yeah Teddy's great too. There's definitely a lot of love in this house, for sure." Vaguely he could hear the duo in the other room chattering on about whatever and it just made Eliot smile all the more.

Julia and Eliot chatted a little more, before Teddy made his way into the kitchen. "Aunt Julia, do you know where the first aid kit is? Dad keeps poking his finger with the needle by accident while stringing the popcorn, and he is bleeding a little," Teddy explained.

"I'm fine!" Q called from the living room.

"Poor Quentin," Eliot frowned, glancing into the other room to make sure it wasn't too serious.

Julia looked to him, then Teddy, clearly more amused than worried, "Hey Eliot, why don't you take over with the popcorn and Q can finish this up after we clean his finger. It'll be a little safer."

Eliot smiled, nodding, "Sounds good. C'mon, Teddy, let's give your dad the good news. I'm sure he'll be happy to not be suffering for his art anymore."

Teddy giggled a little, hugging Eliot before he nodded, heading back toward the living room with Eliot.

Q looked like a disgruntled cat, but was grateful when Eliot took over. He wandered into the kitchen to let Julia patch him up, while Teddy sat down with Eliot to get the ornaments sorted so they could put them on the tree.

Had Eliot known he was in rough shape, he probably would have taken over sooner. He smiled warmly, assuring Quentin that he had his back and could finish this, and reminding him with a gentle smile that there was plenty of champagne to be had and Quentin had earned it.

Eliot settled on the couch beside Teddy, working on picking up where Quentin left off, "How has your evening been, are you having a good time?"

"I'm having a blast! What about you? It's so fun to all get together, decorate, and just...not have to worry about dad's work, or school, or anything like that." Teddy grinned, "Besides, If we're all here, celebrating and having a good time, then Santa has to make my Christmas wish come true!"

"I'm also having a wonderful time. You're absolutely right, it's so nice to be away from responsibilities for a minute," Eliot smiled, carefully continuing the popcorn stringing. He managed to not poke himself yet, though he was just starting. Eliot looked to Teddy when he mentioned his Christmas wish and smiled a little more, "Did you ask Santa for something special this year?"

Teddy smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I uh..." he blushed and looked to make sure Q was out of earshot. "I asked him to find someone special for Dad. I...don't remember papa much, but I know that Dad doesn't smile often these days. He's lonely you know? So, I asked Santa to help. Dad deserves to be happy, and as much as I try to make him smile I know it isn't the same, since...well, I'm just a kid," he shrugged again.

Eliot was completely disarmed. At first he didn't even know what to say because that was just...too adorable and kind, but his expression quickly melted into something warm, and he set down his string and turned to Teddy, "That might just be the sweetest thing I've ever heard, using your Christmas wish to make your dad happy. C'mere," he said softly, inviting Teddy in for a hug, patting his back gently, "I'm sure they would both be so proud of you, for being so sweet and thoughtful."

Teddy wrapped his arms around Eliot in a hug, smiling at what Eliot said. "Yeah? Dad's bad at looking after himself, so someone has to." He shrugged. Part of him wished he had known Eliot then, because maybe he could have asked Santa to bring his dad and Eliot together: it wouldn't be so bad having Eliot as his dad.

Eliot blinked, nodding, "I'm sure between you and Julia, he's perfectly taken care of." He didn't actually believe Quentin would put something like that on Teddy, but Eliot also knew what it was like to feel...helpless. Teddy didn't deserve that.

"What about you, eh? What did you put on your Christmas list?" Teddy asked with a smile.

Eliot was grateful that Teddy was willing to change the subject, "You know, all I really wanted was a little adventure and some yummy holiday desserts and I've already got that."

Of course, he had a few things on his list he kept to himself.

Teddy smiled at that, "Well there's plenty more where that came from! I can't wait for you to have Aunt Julia's cheesecake, it is _soooo_ good!" 

"I'm really excited to try it, it sounds amazing," Eliot smiled, continuing to string popcorn. He was getting the hang of it, able to work a little more quickly, "it wasn't even on my Christmas list."

"As for adventure, I just remembered something! Eliot, we may know how to get in contact with your brother!" Julia said as she poked her head out of the kitchen, looking very pleased.

His ears perked when he heard Julia, "Shit, really? Oh! Sorry, dude," he smiled sheepishly at Teddy, patting his head, "Do you know him?"

Julia grinned a bit, "Well, no offense, but I was stuck on your last name for a bit, because it is...unusual" She explained, leaning on the doorframe. Eliot got that a lot. No one ever spelled it right on the first try, but it had been a long time since he last paid it any mind. "Then I remembered that Q had a client he refurbished a baby crib for, who had the last name Waugh. I bet if we look in his client list we'll find his info."

A refurbished crib. Eliot wondered briefly if Jeremy had a kid or two of his own. It only hurt for a moment: it wasn't ever their fault that they were separated in the first place, but he did feel guilty for letting it go for so long. Maybe that's what he was here for, though.

Quentin emerged at that moment, "Come to think of it, if he's the guy I was thinking of, he looks a lot like you too. I'd be willing to bet it's him." He then looked to Eliot again, "I'm thinking we check my client list and, if this is the guy, maybe tomorrow we can go find him? Jules can stay with the Tedster, and you and I can go? We can also pick up snowstorm supplies while we're out, since I got an alert that it will be blowing in tomorrow night. "

"I do have kind of a distinctive look," Eliot said softly, “and Jeremy was pretty close in appearance anyway. "I'd love that. I think that'd be great. Wow, I can't believe it....really could be him."

"Come on! Let's go check out Dad's workshop!" Teddy grinned excitedly, while Q laughed a little. 

"Well, I like the enthusiasm. Let's go! We can check and see what my log says." Quentin agreed, rubbing his hands together. He was a man on a mission, and he wanted to see Eliot and his brother reunited. "You know, I might have his phone number too, you could give him a call tonight."

"Alright, I guess there's nothing to wait for," Eliot smiled, getting up so he could put on a coat, "Yeah, if you have his number that might be nice. But if not don't worry about it--I was fully prepared to make a surprise in-person appearance anyway." It was so weird how fate seemed to bring them together like this, and would be weirder still if Jeremy really was the guy with the crib. He doubted it just a little bit, but Eliot knew there was a very strong possibility as well: Waugh wasn't exactly a common last name, Evelyn notwithstanding.

Quentin led them to a room at the back of the house which opened to a workshop that had been added on instead of a backyard. There were all sorts of little projects scattered around, some finished, some not, with one of them covered with a purple cloth. Eliot didn't know it, but it was a secret gift just for him.

Eliot had, for some reason, thought that the workshop was separate from the house, but he was still glad for his coat as it was a little chillier in the workshop than it had been in the house proper. He supposed that made sense. He tried not to look around too much, not wanting to invade Quentin's space, but a few of the bigger pieces caught his eye.

Quentin really did everything, didn't he? Eliot thought it was kind of amazing.

"Okay, let's check the files." Julia rubbed her hands together, immediately heading to the back filing cabinets. "Luckily I alphabetized these, so finding W for Waugh...Ah! here we go. Jeremy Jethro Waugh, Age 36, lives in Brooklyn, not far from here actually" Julia reads from his file, then offers it to Eliot "Is that your broski?"

Eliot’s hand gently ran over one of the sturdy work tables, not having been in an environment like this in years, easily. He was a little bit lost, not looking up until he heard Jeremy's name. A little bit of a chill ran down his spine, "That's definitely him. What a...tiny, small world," he said softly, looking to Julia, "Wow that's so amazing, I didn't think we'd actually be able to find him. Wow, I can't wait to actually see him--it's been so many years, but I bet he looks exactly the same."

"Well, you can see a picture if you'd like?" Quentin offered. "I always take a photo ID image for jobs like his, so I can make sure I'm not feeding into some kind of ‘I'm using this entertainment center to smuggle drugs’ situation." He showed Eliot the picture "He was a pretty nice guy. I think he'll be happy to see you."

"Yeah, I'll take a look. That's probably smart on your part too, people can be...wild." Eliot’s voice softened when Quentin handed over the picture and his heart just about stopped, “ _Wow_ …”

It was definitely him. Eliot had seen pictures on his Facebook profile, but those were usually taken at a distance--Jeremy never had a vain bone in his body, which was partly why he ran off the way he did. So seeing his face up close, with his name and his birth date was sort of overwhelming (and holy Christ, he looked almost _exactly_ the same as when he left home...)

Julia smiled softly, "Well, now that we know he's the same guy, we can totally help you reach out to him."

Eliot didn't actually notice the tears in his eyes until he looked up and they threatened to fall. "I'm glad that he was nice to you," he said softly, smiling. "And I would love that, I think tomorrow would be a good day for that."

Quentin smiled and nodded, "Yeah, we can let Julia wrangle the Tedster while you and I go meet your bro." He moved close, without even realizing what he was doing, before he wiped Eliot's tears away and kissed his forehead. "It'll be an early holiday present for ya. Family can be a mess, but I get the feeling this works perfectly."

They were happy tears but, all the same, Eliot was determined to not start fucking crying in front of his cute friend-slash-host. The ghost of a blush colored his cheeks as Quentin's gentle hands fixed his tears and Eliot felt himself take in a deep, shuddery breath he hadn't realized he needed. "Jeremy wasn't like the others, that’s why he…” He sniffled, shaking his head, “It’s significantly less messy, which is good for me," he said softly, managing a little smile. "I'm really excited to see him again, that's going to be amazing. Thank you," he said softly, standing and pulling Quentin into a hug.

"Less messy is good." Quentin answered, before he hugged Eliot back fiercely. He couldn't explain it, it was like...forgetting something, then remembering it again. Having Eliot close like this was...something important. Quentin didn't have to be religious to feel it.

Eliot hadn't been hugged like this in a long time. He closed his eyes, rested his head on Quentin's shoulder and squeezed back gently. He didn't say anything, because he didn't feel like he had to--this was something above words, or maybe just separate from them.

After Eliot composed himself again, Q smiled softly, "Let's go finish decorating the tree, eh? Then Aunt Julia can get Tedster to bed, and we can relax and have a few more drinks?" He offered with a smile.

After another deep breath, Eliot hesitantly pulled away and nodded, "Yes, that sounds perfect. I'm so close to finishing the popcorn." A little smile turned his lips as he patted Quentin on the shoulder, "We do have plenty of champagne to get through too."

"I'm so glad you're better at the popcorn thing than I am." Quentin commented with a playful smile, sliding an arm around Eliot's shoulders as they all headed back into the house proper.

Eliot returned the smile, following Quentin back into the house. Teddy and Julia set about unboxing the ornaments, and they all began hanging them up. It was peaceful, calm, relaxing, and having Eliot there with them just felt right in so many ways.

The night was lovely--it was unlike anything Eliot had ever experienced, and he had no idea how much joy could be derived from putting ornaments on a tree. It felt like he was experiencing something he'd been missing out on for years but didn't quite know it until now. He was almost a little bit sad when they were done.

Julia had been watching the duo and smiled at their effortless chemistry, which was such a feat to see from Quentin. She glanced at the clock when they were through admiring their handiwork before looking to Teddy with another little smile, "Are you just about ready to start bedtime, big guy?"

Teddy rubbed his eyes a little, "...Yeah, I wanna stay up and hang out more but if they're gonna be finding Eliot's brother, then I should probably go sleep." He admitted with a yawn.

Quentin chuckled a little, kissing the top of Teddy's head. "Since Aunt Julia is here, she can read your bedtime story tonight, but sleep well, okay kiddo?"

Eliot hugged Teddy gently, patting his back, "We're gonna have so much fun tomorrow, you'll need your rest anyway."

Julia watched Eliot with a warm little smile, only taking Teddy to start the bedtime routine when he was done with his goodnights.

Once they left, Eliot looked to Quentin, "More champagne?"


	10. Breaking the Dry Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Quentin let their new relationship take an exciting turn. Quentin also scratches a proverbial itch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT INCOMING! If you do not like smut...well, this isn't the fic for you. Think of it like HBO taking a Hallmark movie, and giving it a twist...with no gratuitous female nudity.
> 
> Also Thanks to Kazhig for the art contribution! (It is safe for work, we promise, though the chapter ISN'T so be warned.)

Quentin smiled and nodded. "Yeah, more champagne sounds good." he answered, moving to sit on the sectional with Eliot, though Q sat crossways, so he could look at Eliot easier. "So, was the tree-decorating everything you hoped?"

With another little smile, Eliot got up and poured them each another glass, bringing the bottle over as well. He sat back down, close to Quentin but not too close, "I had no idea what to expect, which maybe sounds kind of weird thinking about it. It was really, really nice though, I'm really happy that I'm here and got to do it." Eliot took a sip of his champagne, "How about you? How are you feeling?"

Quentin took a sip of his drink. "I feel good, better now that my fingers aren't a pin cushion," he chuckled softly. "Thanks for that by the way," he teased, his hand moving to rest on his knee, close to Eliot's leg. "Oh, I wanted to mention..." Q blushed a little, feeling shy, "I feel kinda bad with you sleeping on the couch, and I have a king-sized bed, so...if you wanna crash with me later, I'd be fine with that?"

"That's good, that popcorn's dangerous you know," He smirked, rubbing over Quentin's hand gently before pulling back, unsure if that was...okay. The first move was always a little bit tricky to gauge, but Eliot was only a little bit nervous. Though, the idea of sharing a bed with Quentin did make him just a bit more nervous, he knew with enough champagne he could sleep through anything. "I don't wanna invade your space. I mean--the couch is very comfortable, I don't mind being out here at all. But I do promise that I'm not a sleep-time kicker or anything."

Q smiled, his hand chasing Eliot's a little, before they were ultimately holding hands, and Q had a light blush on his cheeks as he sipped his champagne. "You'd be doing me a favor honestly. That bed is so big I wander, sometimes I even wake up with my head at the foot of the bed. Sometimes Julia sleeps in it with me so I don't end up waking up on the floor. I apparently don't move as much when another person is in the bed," he admitted sheepishly.

Eliot squeezed his hand gently, keeping their hands together. The touch was comfortable, and Eliot hadn't held hands with someone in a long time. "Well--if it'd be helping you then I guess I can't really refuse," he smiled. "I get that though, I don't sleep in a king-sized bed but even still it can feel a little...much. I don't know how you can get to sleep in such a big bed by yourself at all. It must be hard."

Q chuckled softly. "Lots, and lots of pillows. Julia even bought me a body pillow once but, well, it made things difficult when Teddy had nightmares and wanted to sleep in bed with me, so now I've stopped using it and tend to just curl up to sleep," he shrugged. "It doesn't hurt that I'm usually dead tired by the time I go to bed."

"Pillows can make things easier, for sure. I've never tried a body pillow though." It wasn't practical, with his frequent stays in hotels--that was usually where the too-big beds were. Eliot nodded again, "I always sleep best when I'm dead tired, jet lag doesn't bother me as much as it used to but sometimes it can get me good. Those nights of sleep are always the best." He had some more of his champagne with a little smile.

Q settled a little closer, sipping more. "What do you do when you aren't jetting across the world? I mean...I want to learn more about you." He admitted with a blush. _He's so sweet, and so cute...fuck, I'm falling in love with this guy. Not to mention I think I want him...Question is, would he want to fuck me? Or be fucked?_ Q thought to himself, hoping he wasn't blushing even more.

Eliot smiled, sipping his drink as he thought a moment. "I'm kinda figuring myself out right now," he answered softly, "I used to be this party monster but lately I've been feeling like that's...coming to a close. So I've been trying out different hobbies to fill the space. It's a little hit or miss, I've really liked returning to the piano but stuff like meditation hasn't filled the void in quite the same way."

Quentin nodded, "I tried meditation as a form of therapy. My mind is just too loud. It never worked for me," he admitted, sipping his champagne again. "I bet you'd be great at piano. Have you thought about taking up photography? Or...drawing? Something creative that just lets you be more than yourself for a while? I find my work, both in carpentry and other things, tends to...ground me a little."

"That's exactly how I felt with meditation too, I just can't clear my head like that." Which is partly where some of the bad habits he was trying to break came from in the first place. "I haven't really tried drawing. I do take pictures of new cities though. Nothing super creative, just on my phone." Quentin's answer about carpentry made sense, he imagined it was a grounding sort of activity. Eliot nodded, finishing his drink and pouring himself some more, "Cooking can be like that, and then you have something tasty to eat too. I don't really cook just for fun but it is usually relaxing when I do."

"Cooking is a good outlet. I'm not the best at it, but I do enjoy it. Admittedly, I learned most of what I know from either Julia or Penny. Otherwise, I'd know ramen and Kraft Mac N Cheese," he chuckled softly. "I like drawing in my spare time, I'm not amazing at it, but...it does help sometimes when I'm planning restorations and stuff too."

"You're actually really good at cooking, tonight’s meal was delicious. Pizza night too, it takes real skill to--you know, make it come together and all. I always manage to burn it." Eliot smiled; his skills weren't exactly top notch either, but he never minded trying new things.

Eliot tried to picture Quentin drawing and it did make sense: Quentin was definitely one of those artsy types. Eliot kind of was too, "I'm sure, planning it out must make it a bit easier."

"Thank you. I...try to at least make sure that we're all fed with fairly decent food," Quentin chuckled softly.

"I'm sure you do well, if the past few days has been any indication," Eliot smiled. He wasn't conscious of the fact that he'd already taken half of his glass, leaving him a little warmer and fuzzier. Eliot was far from truly inebriated, but his inhibitions were still lowered considerably (at least when it came to his verbal filter) and before he could stop himself he was speaking, "I have something I want to ask you but if it's too personal, we can pretend I didn't."

Quentin had finished half his glass too so he was relaxed and very warm. "Yeah? Ask away," he smiled, stroking a few of Eliot's curls out of his face a little.

Eliot took a bit more of his drink to garner some nerve before taking a deep breath and proceeding, trying to be something like delicate. "Earlier you alluded to not having, uh, indulged in certain activities for a few years and I was just kind of wondering if that was intentional or...a natural side effect of the healing process?"

_Not his smoothest first move but a move nonetheless._

Quentin raised an eyebrow, before he smiled a bit, "It isn't intentional. I uh, just never really found the right time where it felt right. Before now anyway. Plus I was worried about bringing guys around Teddy you know?" He shifted a little closer. "For what its worth though, the dry spell has lost its luster, so I am most definitely open for business."

 _Oh, interesting_. Eliot nodded, "That makes a lot of sense." It must have been different, once kids started getting in the mix. He smiled a little bit more, happily getting closer and letting his hand go to Quentin's. Eliot's soft hand rubbed over Quentin's slowly, almost gentle, "I know I'm not going to be here for very long in the grand scheme of things but I will be in your bed already, and I am very interested in whatever business you have in mind."

Quentin blushed at that, shifting a hand up to cup Eliot's cheek. "Then we should enjoy ourselves while we can, hmm?" He suggested with a playful smile, leaning in and brushing his lips against Eliot's softly, carefully, as though he wanted to be certain that he wasn't misreading the situation.

Eliot agreed wholeheartedly, always a believer in the art of indulgence. He didn't say anything though, smiling at Quentin's chaste little kiss before pressing back into it with a little bit more vigor.

Time felt like it was stopping and Eliot didn't even register that he'd moved his hand to gently cup the side of Quentin's neck until it was there and feeling that warm but steady pulse under his fingertips.

Quentin didn't think. He let himself go on autopilot, letting his body do what it wanted as he shifted, pulling Eliot onto his lap as he deepened the kiss carefully. "Mmm, should we move this party to the bedroom?" He asked with a gentle smile.

It had been a really long time since Eliot kissed someone like this that he really cared about. Kissing already felt good, but this was something else. His eyelids were heavy with want when he realized he'd ended up on Quentin's lap and he could keep back the palest of blushes. "I'd really like that," he mused as he started playing with Quentin's hair, "I should probably get off of you, huh?"

"I kinda like having you in my lap." Quentin said, as if that answered Eliot's question. He decided to surprise Eliot, setting the glass he had been holding aside, before lifting him and carrying him toward his bedroom effortlessly.

"I like being in your lap," Eliot smiled, about to go in for another kiss when he was lifted up. Just to be safe (and okay, maybe to get more contact) Eliot wrapped both arms around Quentin and sighed happily, kissing him on the cheek and relaxing in Quentin's arms.

Once they were in the bedroom, Quentin sat on the bed, returning to making out with Eliot hungrily. The change in vibe made Eliot moan, shifting into more of a straddling position. Eliot wanted as much of himself open for wandering hands as humanly possible, letting their bodies press together in the meantime.

Quentin kissed Eliot, swallowing his moans and groaning a bit as he rocked against Eliot, careful fingers working to undo his shirt. "The first time I saw you, I couldn't help but think about how beautiful you are," he admitted quietly. Once Eliot's shirt was off, he pulled his own off carefully, then pressed against Eliot, wanting to feel him.

"No one ever calls me beautiful anymore," Eliot said softly, not meaning to. He knew he'd regret it if it were anyone else, but this was Quentin and Quentin felt _safe_. "I thought the same thing though, I was just hoping it wasn't obvious."

Eliot let his shirt slip over his surprisingly broad shoulders, watching as Quentin bared his own upper body too. He wrapped both arms around the other man to keep him close, taking a deep happy breath at the new warmth and contact between them. "I don't know how this feels so good already," he breathed, his hand moving to Quentin's jaw to kiss him again.

Quentin's gaze softened. "Well if no one else will call you beautiful, I'll just have to do so more often," he whispered quietly. "You are beautiful Eliot, inside and out." He then let his hand move to grope Eliot's ass gently. "Your skin feels so good on mine...I...God I want you," he admitted with a groan.

"You're going to make me blush," Eliot said, making a soft and pleased noise at the attention to his ass. That was something else that felt good, and Eliot let himself move to gently work on Quentin's neck. This was special. He didn't want to rush but he couldn't deny the little groan and all the attention was already turning him on immensely. Suddenly, Eliot was glad he opted for the soft and cute purple undies rather than something more plain.

"Mmm, can I tell you a secret?" Quentin asked with a playful grin, moaning at the attention to his neck, as he slid his hand down the back of Eliot's undies to lightly toy and rub against his hole playfully.

"Anything," Eliot answered, eyes fluttering closed as the softest little ‘ _oh, fuck’_ escaped him at the unexpected attention.

"I really like to eat ass. I used to beg Penny to sit on my face so I could eat his ass for hours because I just love it," Quentin admitted.

It was a subtle hint, but at the same time he was very eager to get his hands (and mouth) on Eliot's ass.

Quentin's little confession just made Eliot smile--now _that_ was interesting. "I haven't been eaten out in a really long time," he said, kissing along Quentin's jaw, "And I'm never about to deny a man his passions, especially one as sweet as you. My only condition is I get to make you cum too. I'm sure after so long without any, you're ready to explode."

Quentin smirked, "Oh, I am baby. I will warn you though, I'm a bit big, most guys wanted me to bottom during my ho-ing phase, because I was big and they didn't uh, wanna risk me quote ‘wrecking their insides,’” he chuckled.

Eliot smirked back: sounded like a _very_ good problem to have. "Well, it's a good thing I have a very big mouth then," he said, leaning to nip gently along Quentin's jaw.

"Can I take these undies off, so I can see your pretty ass for myself?"

"You absolutely can," Eliot said softly as he moved to better get his underwear off. Once he was completely naked, he turned around to better show Quentin his ass, bending over playfully, "Hopefully good enough to eat?"

Quentin's mouth went dry at the sight of Eliot's beautiful ass. "Oh it is most definitely good enough to eat. I think you have the most beautiful ass I've ever seen,” he admitted, shifting so he is in a better position. "Come have a seat baby, I wanna show you a good time, hm?" He purred playfully.

It was kind of funny to Eliot; most guys immediately wanted on his (also very pretty) dick or wanted him on his knees--he never minded either. This was the first time he'd started with this particular activity, but he wasn't complaining. In fact, it made him feel very special. "You're very, very sweet. Can't wait to see what else that mouth can do," he winked, watching Quentin move and coming right over to him.

While it had been a while, sitting on someone's face was kind of like riding a bike and Eliot didn't need to be told twice. He eagerly settled in, taking a shuddering breath to prepare himself to keep quiet.

Quentin didn't waste any time, squeezing Eliot's firm bubble butt, spreading him a bit so he could eagerly begin to eat Eliot out and moaning quietly as his cock got harder just from indulging in Q's favored activity. He wanted to make it good for El, even though he was a little out of practice, so he found himself doing everything he remembered being good at all those years ago. He hoped it still worked.

"Holy shit," Eliot gasped softly, closing his eyes and feeling his entire body flush with need at the start of the pleasurable sensations. He covered his mouth to stop himself from moaning out loud, Quentin's hot and skilled tongue making it hard to keep himself under control. "You're so fucking good at this," he moaned quietly, biting his lip and feeling his legs already start to shake.

Quentin wanted to hear all those moans, but they couldn't wake anyone. "Mmm, thank you," he purred, before going back to it, wanting to give Eliot as much pleasure as possible. A dark, possessive part of him wanted Eliot to remember this forever, and remember him fondly...as the only one who could eat him out so well.

Eliot was pretty sure he was going to cum without even being touched at this rate, trying to keep his breathing steady to not finish too soon. He wanted to really indulge and enjoy this, trying also to keep his hips still as Quentin worked that pretty mouth and tongue on his hole. " _Quentin_ ," gasped softly, the feeling completely unreal.

Quentin could feel the pleasure in Eliot, the way his thighs shook, the way he tried so hard not to cum. "Do you want me to make you cum like this baby? Or do you want something else?" He teased, guiding Eliot's hand toward his still clothed cock. "Might be a challenge to stay quiet if I fuck you though,” he admitted, going back to eating Eliot's hole.

The dirty talk was just making him even harder and more wanting, and Eliot knew he wasn't going to last long, and he really wanted to give Quentin the full fuck experience anyway, so he didn't take it as a loss at all. He did stroke over Quentin's impressive hardness shamelessly and giving it a loving little squeeze, "Wanna cum like this." It was getting harder to speak, of course, and he was blushing so hard, "Then I wanna use my pretty mouth too."

"Mmm, you do have such a lovely mouth," Quentin purred, before he redoubled his efforts, growling a bit as he went back to eating Eliot out enthusiastically. In the back of his mind, he wished this could last. The only other person who had brought out this level of desire in him so quickly was Penny.

"I'm sure it's just your size," Eliot smiled, though when Quentin went back to work he couldn't help some deep blushes all over. His legs were still trembling and he was breathing deeply to keep from moaning out loud--he'd done stuff like this in enough private-public spaces to be able to keep himself under control. Even as he came (hard, all over himself) he was able to stay mostly quiet, nothing giving him away bit a particularly broken little gasps of Quentin's name and his body shaking all over (and of course the delicious mess splattered all over him.)

Quentin couldn't resist having a taste, so he swiped his fingers over Eliot's abs and chest, before tasting his cum. "Mmm, delicious," he purred. "Next time I'll have to blow you, and have a bit more to myself, hmm?" He teased with an absolutely filthy grin.

If Eliot hadn't just cum, he'd probably be hard again watching Quentin gratuitously enjoy his body. That was a really good look for him. He gave Quentin a little smile, "I think that sounds perfect, but right now it's your turn."

Eliot shifted to undo Quentin's pants, humming in approval at the big bulge that lay underneath, "Speaking of delicious," he murmured, getting Q's pants off but leaving the underwear on for now.

The underwear had a small damp place, and it was clear that he was leaking already. "Mmm, delicious eh? You're not uh, bothered by the size?" He asked quietly, stroking his fingers through Eliot's hair, watching him fondly. "I'm not used to people wanting me like you do...it is fantastic honestly," he admitted with a smile.

"I'm not bothered at all," Eliot said softly, like he couldn't believe anyone possibly ever could be. He stroked over Quentin's hardness over his underwear, his thumb lingering on the little damp spot, "Oh I do, really want you, and I _really_ want you to know exactly how much." Eliot smiled as he hooked his thumbs in Quentin's underwear waistband, helping him out of them.

Quentin lifted his hips to assist Eliot, his heavy cock slapping against his stomach as Eliot pulled off his underwear. "I'm all yours..." Quentin purred, deciding to tease Eliot a little by stroking himself lazily, letting out a soft, breathless moan. "You want this?" He teased Eliot playfully.

 _Jesus_ , it was even more beautiful than Eliot could have imagined--not that he imagined it (okay, maybe a few times.) He almost moaned out loud watching Quentin wrap his hand around it and stroke teasingly, "Oh fuck, I do. I want it in my mouth right now, gonna make you feel so good, Quentin."

Quentin licked his lips "Mmm, well, it is all yours, El. But first..." He pulled Eliot into a slow, sensual kiss, just needing to taste him and feel him. "Mmm, there we go," he purred, "you taste so good, ya know? It's gonna be hard to not kiss you all the time."

"You can kiss me," Eliot breathed. It wasn't something he usually allowed from his hookups (or even something they wanted most of the time) but Quentin was...special.

Plus, Eliot hadn't been kissed like that in a long time, and he found that he really enjoyed it. It was nice to feel completely adored like that. He leaned down to steal a more gentle little kiss before giving Quentin a smirk, pressing kisses down his stunning body until he reached the head of his cock.

Quentin licked his lips, unable to draw his gaze away from Eliot. "You're the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen..." he admitted quietly. He knew that technically that was probably terrible to say, having been married before, but Penny was gorgeous in a different way.

Eliot wasn't really sure what to say to that, but he did appreciate the compliment all the same. "Please tell me you know how beautiful you are too," he said with a little smile, guiding Quentin's hardness to his mouth. For now he only took in the head, licking and suckling and sighing happily at the taste of his precum.

Quentin blushed at that, moaning softly at the feeling of Eliot's mouth. "Ohhh," he whispered breathlessly, stroking his fingers through Eliot's curls. "After a five year dry spell, you forget how good that is," he chuckled.

Eliot couldn't imagine going five years without someone else in bed with him for a night--hell, even just for an hour or two. He understood Quentin's reasoning though, and smiled a little as he made sure to be extra teasing and pleasurable. A soft hum rumbled in his throat at the affectionate touches to his hair, and Eliot leaned to take more of Quentin into his mouth, all the while, stroking the rest of his shaft.

Quentin mewled and moaned softly. "Mmm, Eliot. Just...full disclosure. I don't know how long I'll last. Your mouth is fucking amazing and it has been a while. We might need to work on my stamina," Q purred playfully, not wanting to disappoint.

Quentin's words made Eliot smile a little bit; he hadn't expected Quentin to last very long anyway, but found it cute and flattering all the same. He pulled back and pressed a kiss to Quentin's thigh, "Cum whenever you're ready, I know I'm good. The holidays are about indulgence after all." Eliot winked before returning to Quentin's cock, taking a little more of it than before. His hand moved rhythmically up and down the shaft as his mouth and throat worked, looking up at Quentin with big eyes.

Quentin let out a deeper, more desperate moan, keeping eye contact, and finding that he was having a hard time not getting very attached. He came hard after a few more movements of Eliot's mouth and throat, moaning Eliot's name desperately. "Fuck...you might end up sore by the time you go home. This is so good I may not be able to keep my hands to myself," he admitted quietly.

They were doing a pretty good job at being quiet, but Eliot couldn't help a blush hearing the soft moans for him, knowing that he was doing so good at being satisfying. Eliot was so lost in listening to the tasty noises that Quentin's release caught him off guard, though he was still able to swallow all of it. He made a satisfied noise of his own before letting go of Quentin's length, moving up to kiss him gently and rest beside him, "That sounds like one of the best problems to have."

Normally, Eliot didn't do cuddling after sex, but every now and then he ran into an exception to the rule. Quentin unequivocally fell into that category. Eliot didn't wait for an invitation before curling up close to the other man, resting his head on that soft but firm chest, and wrapping an arm around his waist.

Quentin panted a little. It was such an intense feeling, but oh so wonderful. He couldn't resist kissing Eliot passionately, holding him close and letting his fingers gently stroke over Eliot's skin. "Mmm, you're amazing, you know that?" He grinned serenely, kissing Eliot again. _I have to make sure I make the most of this...though I already don't want him to leave…_ Quentin thought to himself.

Sure, Eliot had had some excellent sexual experiences, but this was on another level. There was something about Quentin that was just so appealing, so extraordinarily sweet and careful and good inside and out, it was a little bit unprecedented. He wasn't sure what the next step was supposed to be, but maybe that wasn't something to worry about now.

"You're amazing too," Eliot smiled, his own fingers exploring a little bit over chest hair and surprisingly soft skin. "Was that a good way to break your dry spell?"

Quentin laughed softly. "Mmm, definitely. Though I might need your help to break it a little more...I think we'll have time over the next few days. I want to play with that beautiful ass of yours some more," he purred, kissing Eliot softly. He knew he'd have to be careful, since he could remember being downright insatiable every time Penny was home from deployment.

"I'm so flattered that you like my ass so much," Eliot said without thinking, kissing Quentin back before laughing softly at himself, "Sorry, that wasn't...overly smooth, but I do mean it. This was really fun, I can't wait to have more fun with you." Eliot's voice got softer as he spoke, giving Quentin a sweet little smile as he gently played with long, straight locks. He loved the feeling of Quentin's hair in his hand, sighing happily.

Quentin shifted a little closer, his hand migrating to Eliot's ass to give a light squeeze. "Mmm, you don't always have to be smooth. You've got me where you want me sweetheart," he purred, kissing Eliot again, this time in a slightly more slow and sensual way. "I can't wait to have more fun too, and I love feeling your hand in my hair," he admitted quietly.

"I think I just like being smooth, but...it's nice to know that I can relax a bit around you. Let my hair down and all," Eliot said softly. Quentin kissed him and his heart just about stopped, kissing him back with a soft and happy little noise, his hand remaining in Quentin's hair.

It felt really nice, but most of all it felt really _right_. Eliot tried not to think about it too much.

When Quentin pulled back, a little smile formed on Eliot's lips, "Did you want to head to sleep soon? I know we have a busy day tomorrow."

Quentin smiled. "Mmm, we should. As much as I want to stay up and make out like teenagers," he laughed a little. "I should probably restrain myself too, considering I have a tendency to get insatiable if I...indulge too much. I might accidentally cause a scene in public, groping you or something."

"I feel the same way," Eliot smiled back, stroking Quentin's cheek, "color me intrigued about your insatiability, but that's not something for tonight." As much as Eliot would have loved to stay up milking Quentin's cock, they did have a busy day tomorrow. He paused a moment as he realized his bag was in the other room, "Um, would it be okay if I borrowed something to sleep in?"

Quentin smiled a little, "You don't have to sleep in anything if you don't want to. Teddy isn't one to wake me up early, and you can wear some of my cold-weather stuff for our outing tomorrow...if you want?"

Truthfully he just wanted to sleep naked with Eliot, but he _was_ trying to be practical.

Eliot chuckled softly, "You read my mind, I didn't want Teddy to--you know. Find me here un-decent." Even if Quentin did just want him naked in his bed, Eliot wasn't about to complain or protest; it wasn't like he wanted to wear clothes to sleep anyway. Quentin kept a nice warm house, which would only be warmer with another body in the bed.

Then it hit Eliot that this was the first time he wouldn't be sleeping through the night alone in a little while. He cleared his throat, "That would be nice, I have a nice outfit I bought that I was planning on wearing but I think I'll need an extra sweater and maybe a scarf and some mittens? Do people...still wear mittens? I always kind of liked them."

Quentin chuckled and nodded "I have plenty of mittens and scarves. We'll make sure you're nice and toasty tomorrow, promise. Also...I look forward to seeing your nice outfit," he grinned, kissing Eliot again as he snuggled in close.

"I'll look very nice, and as a bonus get to smell like you too. And stay warm, of course." Eliot kissed him back, sighing and settling into the warm comforter and blankets. He curled up close to Quentin, kissing his cheek gently, "I'm looking forward to showing you. I really love dressing up. I got another cute outfit for Christmas proper too. I wanted--you know, to look extra good for you."

"Personally, I think you always look cute, but I am honored that you're wanting to go the extra mile for little old me," Quentin kissed Eliot sweetly, stroking his fingers through the gorgeous man's hair.

"Heh, that's very sweet of you but you're not old and I think we both know you're not little either," Eliot smiled, relaxing into the careful attention being paid to his hair. He did always love that feeling and it was starting to get much easier to think about getting to sleep.

A soft giggle was Eliot's reward for the joke and Q kissed him again, just enjoying doting on Eliot a little bit as they both relaxed and wound down for sleep.

Quentin's laugh...Eliot could have listened to that for the next hundred _years_. Throughout the night, he'd been having sneaky, terrifying little thoughts like that--he was so scared of the idea of love, of settling down, staying anywhere and opening himself up to anything but right now…right now, Eliot let himself indulge in the soft sweet laugh, the soft sweet kiss. He indulged and let himself sleep soundly for the night wrapped up in Quentin's arms.

Quentin was in the same boat, falling head over heels for Eliot, and being unsure what to do about it. He waited until he was sure Eliot was asleep, before he brushed his lips against Eliot's forehead. "I'm falling hard for you...let's enjoy this while it lasts, hm?" he whispered quietly, settling down to sleep.


	11. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot reunites with his brother during an outing with Quentin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of smut at the beginning here, so be warned. Also see if you can spot the surprise character mention that I didn't tag (it's like a scavenger hunt! but an obvious one.)

The next morning, Quentin woke first, as he usually did. He smiled softly, brushing some hair from Eliot's face as he watched him sleep. _Is this what a summer romance feels like?_ How odd that the holidays could be the one to bring it forward. He settled in, knowing no one else was awake yet, which meant he could just lay there comfortably and relax.

Eliot was asleep for several long moments before waking up--nothing in particular woke him up, he just naturally fell out of his sleep. The first thing he saw was Quentin, awake and even more beautiful than when they had gone to bed. A sleepy, relaxed smile formed on his features, "Good morning, sunshine." Carefully, Eliot reached and touched Quentin's hair, staying close. His voice was still soft from sleep, "What time is it?"

"Almost 8:30," Quentin answered with a gentle smile, leaning in and brushing a kiss against Eliot's lips. "You looked so beautiful sleeping, that I just couldn't bear to wake you," he admitted, indulging in the quiet, intimate moment.

"8:30," Eliot repeated, more trying to get the _concept_ of 8:30 into his head at this point--on Christmas Eve especially, this was sleeping in for him. He smiled and opened his eyes, closing them immediately at the gentle little kiss. "You really know how to make a guy feel special," he said, still soft. Maybe Eliot couldn't be anything but soft ever again (it wasn't the worst thing in the world.)

Quentin smiled, nuzzling Eliot softly, his hand sliding down to rest on Eliot's perky bubble butt. "Mmm, yeah? Well, you should feel special. I need the names and numbers of guys who say otherwise so I can educate them properly," he teased, kissing Eliot again gently.

Eliot snorted, "They're not worth the energy, trust me. But I'm flattered all the same. Likewise, if there's anyone who's ever made you feel not-special and amazing...well, I'll start kicking their ass and inevitably tag Margo in. She's a little better at laying down the law." He would, try _really_ hard to fight but Eliot had taken enough punches to know it wasn't really his scene. Quentin's fresh touch made Eliot smile, nuzzling his chest and relaxing cuddly-close to the other man. "I feel like I should go make some coffee but you're making a very compelling case for staying right here."

Quentin giggled a little, enjoying how affectionate Eliot was being. "Mmm, Jules is probably already making a pot, and the Tedster doesn't usually wake up for another thirty minutes to an hour...so if you wanted we could...fool around a little?" He let his hand wander, a finger brushing lightly against Eliot's hole. "I had a rather fantastic dream about you, and it has me feeling a bit frisky."

"Sounds like we do have a bit of time," Eliot said with a cheeky little smile (only as cheeky as Quentin's hand was being though, of course.) He made a pleased noise at the finger that found his hole and chuckled just a little bit at the notion of Quentin having wet dreams about him, mostly because he could recall some sexy things happening in dreamland himself. "Christmas miracles, I'm feeling the very same way. Which is funny, because I haven't had a dream like that in a long time."

Quentin’s other hand moved to cup Eliot's cheek, his thumb brushing across it as he kissed Eliot again. "I also had an idea for our outing today...if you are interested."

Eliot kissed him back, nodding and blinking curiously, "Oh I'm very interested, what did you have in mind?"

Q chuckled softly. "Well, I was thinking...odds are while we're out, people might ask if we're together. We could uh, play along if you want?" He asked, lazily rubbing Eliot's hole, brushing a kiss against his cheek while he slowly eased the tip in. "I haven't had dreams like that in a while either, guess it's some Christmas magic hm?"

"Oh," Eliot moaned softly, the question only registering to him once Quentin's finger was starting to enter him. "I think that sounds fun. Playing along. Why not, right?" Eliot didn't think it would make him any more attached to Quentin than he already was and, well, he imagined people could be nosy about his love life and thought it might be good for keeping them off Quentin's back.

A strained little chuckle left Eliot as the physical affection was just...so good. "Hmm, is it too personal to ask what your dream was about?"

"Mmm, it isn't too personal, just uh, don't get...weirded out?" Q blushed a little.

"I promise, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," Eliot smiled, kissing him back.

He leaned in to kiss Eliot again. "I had a dream, that we went for a nice romantic dinner, and then when we got back, you asked if I would fuck you...um…" Q blushed a little more. "Without a condom, which was good since I haven't stocked condoms in the house since Penny and I got married."

Given the things he, himself, had done when he was in college, Eliot was pretty sure Quentin couldn't say anything that was going to weird him out, and when he explained his dream it only confirmed that suspicion. It actually sounded like a very _sweet_ dream, and Eliot was almost a little bit ashamed of his own, "I mean, I can assure you a clean bill of health, but only--you know, if doing that would be comfortable for you too."

Q grinned, "Mmm, it would be comfortable for me. I mean, it was a little more filthy than that, since...well, by the end my cum was dripping out of your hole, but...yeah." He smiled and nuzzled Eliot softly. "Want to uh, tell me yours?"

"Oh you _are_ filthy, I love it," Eliot smirked, looking at Quentin and gently tucking a few strands of hair behind his ear. He kissed Quentin's cheek, nodding, "We were joining the mile high club, but we...weren't in the airplane bathroom. What do you think it means that in both our dreams I was on the bottom?"

"Well, I thought mine meant that I just really like your ass, but maybe there's something a bit more to it, if we're sharing the same dream contents?" Q purred, ever the romantic in that regard. "I'll admit mine also might be because I really would love to do my best to give you more pleasure than you know what to do with."

Oh, Quentin was _smooth_. Quentin was smoother than Eliot would have anticipated and he couldn't help the way it made his heart pick up speed just a little bit. "Well..." Eliot smirked, pressing his lips to Quentin's cheek, "We only have about half an hour, right? I guess we better use our time wisely. Unless it'll be too hard for you to stay quiet."

"It might be a bit hard to stay quiet. However, I'm willing to risk it if you are. Might just have to kiss me to keep me from moaning too loud while I give your ass the attention it deserves, hmm?" Quentin teased.

"I'm very good at being fast and quiet. And I’ll kiss you so much," Eliot promised, stroking over Quentin's hair. He did have a tendency of finding himself in nearly-public spaces getting felt up just the right way but...well, Eliot supposed that was just his _life_ , and he definitely wanted an orgasm before facing the day. "How do you want me? On my back?"

Quentin smirked a bit and shook his head, gently moving Eliot onto his lap. “I want you to ride me. Wanna be able to touch, and tease, and make out with you while I fuck you," he grinned, sucking a mark just below Eliot's neck, where his shirt would hide it. "You're so beautiful, you know?"

"I like that idea," Eliot smiled, easily getting onto Quentin's lap with a happy little sigh. This position always felt a little like home; Eliot loved being touched and teased and kissed during sex. He took Quentin's strong, calloused hands and put them on his waist, moaning softly at the attention to his almost-neck. "I mean, I'll admit to my vanity but it's really nice to hear coming from someone as beautiful as you are," Eliot smiled, leaning to steal some lotion off Quentin's nightstand and coating his cock before easily sliding the hardness inside him. "Mmmm, fuck, you're amazing..."

Quentin let out a soft moan. It had been...well, _five years_ since he had done this, so the feeling was unexpectedly intense. "Mmm, likewise baby..." Q groaned, slowly rocking upward into Eliot carefully. One hand slid up Eliot's side and along his chest, the calluses on his hands adding a bit of sensation to the caress. "From the first time I saw you, I thought you were gorgeous...seeing you here, is even more amazing."

"I never thought I'd be privileged enough to be sharing a bed with you," Eliot moaned softly, the words slightly rushed in pleasure but he meant them all the same. He opened his eyes to meet Quentin's, taking his hand gently and kissing a few of his fingertips as he let his hips move to the same rhythm that Quentin's were.

Eliot made another soft noise before leaning down and capturing Quentin's pretty mouth into a kiss, trying to silence both of them.

Quentin didn't have much self-control in this regard. He made out with Eliot hungrily, as his hips began to pick up a faster rhythm, his balls slapping against Eliot with each intense thrust forward. "Mmm, likewise...You're amazing, El..."

"Mhmm, can't believe how good you feel," Eliot whispered between hot kisses, thrusting with Quentin and moaning softly into his mouth. It was so hard for him to keep quiet, but so far they were doing good. "You're so fucking _gorgeous_ , Quentin..."

Quentin was having a hard time not moaning aloud, but the kisses were a good distraction. "Mmm, El...you're gorgeous too. So damn beautiful..." He groaned, fucking upward into Eliot firmly. "Fuck...dunno how long I'll last, your hole feels incredible..." Q moaned, his voice rough with desire.

Eliot was finding that he really loved kissing Quentin. He had tried to tell himself that he wouldn't get affectionate with him if something happened but it felt too good to hold back. Kissing Quentin and being touched like this and hearing him moan like that was all so satisfying and intense, Eliot wondered how he managed all this time without it.

Eliot was panting, immensely turned on to the point where it took a moment for the words to register, "Whenever you're ready," he permitted, "I want you to feel good, I-I'm close too..."

Quentin groaned against Eliot's mouth, breathless and hungry for more. He sucked a mark on Eliot's collarbone, thrusting in a few more times, before he came with a long, desperate groan, managing to stay just quiet enough that no one would hear them. Eliot ended up finishing at the same time, trying to stay quiet and blessedly succeeding, even as Quentin went after his sensitive collarbone.

"Mmm, fuck...you're perfect, some fucking kind of amazing, wonderful Christmas magic or something," Quentin purred.

It took a minute for Eliot to catch his breath, practically collapsing on top of Quentin. He blushed when he felt the mess he made on Quentin's warm, hairy skin but didn't pay it any mind for now. "It's a little bit of a Christmas miracle I wasn't screaming, you're very good with that," Eliot smirked, closing his eyes. "I'm glad that I was just as good for you too."

Quentin smirked a little, kissing Eliot softly and squeezing one of Eliot's asscheeks. "Mmm, hopefully I'll be able to have you somewhere where you can be as loud as you want...before you have to leave." He smirked, kissing Eliot softly, sighing as he looked at the clock. "We'd better get ready before we're interrupted."

A low chuckle rumbled in Eliot's chest, and he thought for a moment about booking them a hotel somewhere close by but...that would have to wait for later, they did have important adventures to be going on. Quentin spoke as if reading his mind and Eliot nodded, "I hope you know how much I don't want to be crawling out of this bed," he smiled, kissing Quentin on the cheek. "I know you're right though. Can I momentarily steal a bathrobe for breakfast?"

Quentin nodded, kissing Eliot sweetly. "Yeah, you can. I have a bathrobe you can borrow," he promised, nuzzling Eliot as he stroked a hand up and down his back carefully. "I think I smell Julia cooking breakfast too, so we can grab a bite, go get dressed, and then go see about finding your brother?"

"Thank you," Eliot whispered, with full intention of getting up, but here was Quentin's lovely hand on his back, making him feel even more relaxed and comfortable. "Mmm, I did work up an appetite, some breakfast sounds amazing." He sighed, willing himself into a sitting position and stroking Quentin's hand gently.

Quentin wanted to stay in bed and fuck all day. Alas, that wouldn't work as they had things to do and a snowstorm to prepare for, not to mention Eliot needed to be reunited with his brother and Q fully intended on making sure that happened.

Eliot kissed Quentin on the lips gently, giving a mischievous little smirk before rolling out of bed. He went for the robe on the back of Quentin's door, pulling it on with a comforted sigh. It smelled just like Quentin and was much softer than the stuff he himself usually wore--besides some of his new garments, of course.

Quentin slowly got out of bed, looking Eliot over. He couldn't resist tugging him closer, kissing him sweetly.

The kiss surprised Eliot but immediately relaxed him--there was just a hint of nervousness in his belly thinking about the others seeing him come out of Quentin's room in his robe. Quentin didn't seem ruffled at all though, so Eliot tried to swallow it.

"You have no idea how hot you are wearing that..." Quentin purred, feeling a possessive sort of thrill from seeing Eliot in his robe. He pulled on a pair of underwear and a shirt.

"Oh yeah?" Eliot smiled, "Maybe I should wear it more often." He took Quentin's hand, kissing it gently before leading the way to the kitchen.

Quentin smiled softly, following Eliot. He didn't miss Julia's knowing grin, and blushed slightly. Teddy didn't seem to notice that anything had changed ( _thank goodness_ ) so he distracted them all with his usual cheer. "Good morning!" He said brightly. "Aunt Julia made pancakes!"

"Oh? Her pancakes are pretty amazing. You're in for a treat El," Q grinned, moving to make himself (and Eliot) a cup of coffee.

"Pancakes sound delicious, they look very tasty," Eliot smiled to Teddy, heading to the cabinet to get some for himself, also taking the cup of coffee that Quentin had made for him. Already, this felt like a good day, but maybe it was just the afterglow of a broken dry spell. Either way, Eliot wasn't complaining.

"You guys look like you slept well…” Julia commented with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Champagne is amazing for that," Eliot smirked back. "I slept like a baby. Or--a baby that sleeps well anyway." He wasn't sure if Quentin wanted Teddy to know they stayed in the same bed together (even if Julia definitely knew) so Eliot tried to keep it as neutral-sounding as he could.

Quentin smiled softly. "It helped not being alone in that bed. Turns out Eliot is a fantastic cuddle partner," he commented without hesitation, winking at Eliot, before giving Julia a look that said _we are not talking about this in front of small, impressionable ears._

Teddy clapped excitedly. "Awesome! I know you get lonely in that bed sometimes, Dad," he said, completely oblivious of what his dad and new friend had been up to.

"Champagne also makes me cuddly," Eliot chuckled softly, sitting down at the table. "Quentin is also a very good cuddle partner, my arms didn't fall asleep once." He sipped his coffee before reaching for the maple syrup, drizzling some over his pancakes. Julia smirked. Eliot gave Teddy a little smile, "That bed is huge, I thought I'd get lost in it. Very comfy though, it was like sleeping on a cloud."

"All the more reason you should stay close to Dad! If you're close to Dad you can't get lost!" Teddy beamed, with all of the childhood innocence that he contained.

Quentin had to try not to laugh, taking a sip of his coffee and avoiding the look of sheer smugness on Julia's face. Once Eliot had finished with the syrup, he put some on his pancakes as well, and started to dig in carefully.

"It's also important to stay close to him so I have somewhere to put my feet when they get cold. It's a win-win. Well--except for your dad's feet, I guess." Eliot snorted a little, starting in on his own breakfast.

Julia watched the duo, happy that Quentin finally got some with someone who seemed like a genuine, good person. They seemed to play off each other nicely. It was...heartwarming, but not in that sickeningly sweet way.

Once breakfast was done, Quentin sent Eliot to go shower while he and Teddy cleaned up the dishes. Then, once the dishes were done, Quentin changed into clothes for their outing. Normally, he'd consider joining Eliot in the shower, but he knew that would distract them even more than they had been already.

Once Eliot got out and dressed (in one of the slightly fancier outfits Penny helped him pick out) he met back up with Quentin and Julia in the living room, "Are you all ready?"

Julia nodded, "Teddy and I are gonna go walk through Central Park for a while, so you guys can track down your brother. Text me when you guys head to get the snowstorm supplies and we'll meet you?"

Quentin couldn't help but find Eliot stunning. He looked incredible and it took him a moment to respond. "Oh! Uh, yeah. That works. I've got my phone, and we will take a bit of time so Eliot can catch up with his brother anyway. So you guys can have fun while we're out!" He beamed, unable to resist sliding an arm around Eliot's shoulders gently.

"That sounds perfect," Eliot smiled, noticing how star struck Quentin seemed to be. It was charming. The arm around him was pleasantly surprising and felt really good. Gentle affection like this was always nice. Eliot checked his watch, "We should probably head out, but we'll see you later. Bye, Teddy!" Eliot leaned down to hug him gently, which only drew a little smile from Julia.

Teddy hugged Eliot tightly, kissing his cheek before letting Q and Eliot head out. Once they got to the car, Q looked to Eliot and blushed a little. "Sorry about Jules, she's a bit...nosy," he chuckled. "Siblings, am I right?" He added, getting settled for the drive over to Eliot's brother's place.

"Don't worry about it," Eliot assured, opening the car door and getting in on the passenger's side. "I get that completely: Margo's going to be the same way once she FaceTimes me later, I'm sure. She'd probably get along really well with Julia." He buckled himself in, taking a deep breath.

Quentin chuckled softly. "I think I'd get along with Margo too, I can't wait to meet her," Quentin commented, driving carefully since people were on the road buying things and preparing for the snowstorm. "Are you nervous to see him again?"

Eliot looked at Quentin and he was so...lovely, unbelievably lovely. He could practically hear Margo's voice in the back of his head telling him that he must have some deep flaw because no one's _that_ lovely but, like a snowflake, the closer Eliot looked the more beautiful Quentin became.

It took a second, but Eliot processed the question and nodded, "Honestly, yeah. I mean, he was always--I have three older brothers, and he was the nicest of them for sure. The other two didn't...they weren't so nice to me, and Jeremy was kind of the one I'd go to when things were bad. It really sucked when he took off for college. It's been so long I kinda--this might sound weird but I hope he still likes me."

"Well, I think Jeremy will be very proud and very happy to see you," Quentin answered with a gentle smile, driving toward the address he plugged into his GPS. "Who knows, maybe having Jeremy and his family here would give you a reason to visit?" He teased, not wanting to put too much pressure on Eliot of course. They were enjoying themselves while they could after all.

"I really hope so," Eliot said softly--he remembered one of the last real conversations he had with Jeremy was in his room, sobbing that he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and how behind he felt--despite only being 15--and Jeremy holding him and assuring him that he had plenty of time and even college majors didn't have to be permanent fixtures. Eliot smiled to himself thinking about it and how far he'd come away from being that lost and scared teenage boy.

Quentin spoke and Eliot smiled a little more, "You know, I think I already have a reason to visit. Julia's cheesecake is out of this world." He gently rubbed over Quentin's shoulder, "But really, this would be holiday-miracle levels of convenient for me. As much as I love Washington state, New York is just so much less depressing." Eliot smiled, looking at the floor, “You've been so kind to me, all of you." It wasn't just about the cheesecakes, but he was grateful all the same.

Quentin grinned, kissing Eliot softly. "Well, you're welcome to stay with us anytime. I'll have Julia put a few cheesecakes in the freezer too," he teased, parking on the street next to Jeremy's place. "Do you wanna do this alone? Or do you want me to come with you? I know sometimes family stuff is...private," he said, not really wanting to leave Eliot's side.

When they pulled up to what Eliot assumed was Jeremy's residence, he took a deep breath, shaking his head, "I know it's probably super awkward for you and maybe too much to ask but...I really don't want to do this alone, if that's okay? I mean he'll want to know how I found him and--it'll be easiest to just be honest. He’ll probably think it's less weird if you're there, you know?"

Quentin smiled softly, leaning over and kissing Eliot's cheek. "I've got your back, El. It isn't awkward, and it isn't too much. Sometimes you need moral support for things like this," he answered with a gentle smile. He got out of the car, walked around, and then opened the door for Eliot. "Come on, Jeremy's waiting. I have a good feeling about this."

"I appreciate that, thank you." Eliot took a breath as Quentin exited the car, unbuckling his seatbelt, and smiled.

Eliot sighed at Quentin's words, hopping out of the car and taking him by the hand with a little smile. He led the way up the stairs to Jeremy's place, clearing his throat softly and taking another breath before knocking on the door.

A tall, slender man (that was the spitting image of Eliot, now that Quentin got a good look) answered the door, smiling brightly. "Eliot?! Holy-fucking-shit! How did you find this place? What a great surprise!" He opened the door all the way, seeing Quentin and grinning. "Ahhh, I see. He found you, and you led him to me right? Nice! Come 'ere!" He then proceeded to hug Eliot tightly, almost lifting him off the ground with the intensity of the hug.

Eliot's eyes lit up the moment he saw Jeremy--who hadn't changed a bit even in the years between them. He couldn't even speak, happy that the answer to his question made itself obvious because here he was and here his brother was after so long. He hugged Jeremy back just as tightly, sighing happily, and almost crying, almost laughing, "Fuck, I'm so happy to see you. I know this is--super out of the blue but…do you have a second? There's so much I want to tell you."

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah! I've got time. The family and I are getting ready for a Christmas vacation, but I've always got time for you, little brother." He kissed the top of Eliot's head, inviting Quentin and Eliot inside.

Eliot smiled broadly, happy that Jeremy would have a second for him despite the holidays being busy. Really, he was just glad to have caught him at all.

Quentin followed the duo inside the house and both he and Eliot couldn't help but look around a bit. Houses were so telling when it came to what the people inside were like and obviously Eliot had missed so many years. He caught sight of the pictures of his kids, which was to be expected, and a few pictures of someone--maybe his partner? It was only confirmed when the man himself came into the room with kids in tow.

"Oh! Darling, is this the brother I've heard so much about?" A beautiful dark-skinned man asked as he entered the room with two little kids, one on his hip and the other hugging his leg.

"Oh! Eliot, this is my husband, Idri, and our two kids, Fen and Todd"

Quentin grinned, "Oh! you showed me pictures when you dropped by the workshop!"

"Idri, Fen, and Todd," Eliot repeated with a smile, nodding to each one of them. "I'm Eliot, obviously, I mean..." He smiled to Jeremy, amazed at how much alike they still looked. "This is Quentin, he's--my new best friend? It's kind of a long story, I'd love to fill you in.”

Quentin blushed slightly, nodding a bit. "Talk about a bit of Christmas magic," he chuckled.

"Oh? Do tell, I wanna know all about what you've been up to!" Jeremy grinned, kissing Idri's cheek. "I know we're on schedule so we'll catch up a bit while you and the kids finish getting ready, and then we'll head out?"

Idri nodded. "I gave a bit of wiggle room, so if we're a little late getting out, it is fine," he grinned.

Eliot smiled, sitting down on the couch and inviting Quentin beside him, who followed suit. They watched and smiled, waiting patiently for Jeremy to join them, who regarded them after he was done speaking with Idri. "Let me grab you some water. Unless you want coffee?"

"Water's good," Eliot smiled.

Jeremy nodded and came back a moment later with two glasses of water, "Tell me everything."

And so Eliot did. He told Jeremy all about the family fracturing and splintering in Seattle. Eliot told him about becoming a flight attendant, meeting Margo, and having wild adventures. Finally, that led him to how he met Teddy and Quentin, and finding himself in town for the holidays. "A little bit of...holiday magic, right?"

Once Eliot had gotten to the part about Teddy and Q, Quentin had gotten up to use the restroom. Jeremy, who knew his brother pretty well even after all this time, gave Eliot a knowing look.

"Do you mind if I give you a piece of...brotherly advice?" He asked with a smile, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Go for it," Eliot answered, taking a sip of his water.

"Don't let that one slip through your fingers. I latched on to Idri once I realized how good we are together...so I think you and Quentin are the same, in a lot of ways. I know you've never been one to cling too tightly to people but...maybe holiday magic gave you a leg up for once?"

Eliot leaned back in his chair as Jeremy spoke, sighing softly. "It's funny you say that because...I went to this store, to get some winter wear--you know, not-Hawaii-clothes. This stylist was there, and he was predictably amazing and really cute too, he said the same thing. It's just..." He sighed, looking at the ceiling before looking back to Jeremy, "I've never felt this way about anyone before and I'm scared _shitless_. I don't want to put pressure on him and...I want to be good for him and not rushing things."

Jeremy chuckled softly. "I felt the same way with Idri," he commented. "Think of it this way though. If you don't try then you'll spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been. I mean, just sitting here listening to you, watching him too...he's into you! Don't worry about putting pressure, just put yourself out there. It sounds to me like you get along well with his kid, and as a parent, let me just tell you that's half the battle right there!"

Quentin didn't let either of them know he was listening, trying to wait until the conversation shifted. He noticed Idri down the hall watching, and he winked, the two sharing the secret.

"Hey, in my defense we've kissed a _lot_ the past couple of days," Eliot smirked, chuckling softly. "I know that you're right though, I know I need to--do the scary thing. It is scary, though. I don't want to disappoint him or anything but--" Eliot sighed, "--you're right. I guess I just need to figure out how. Luckily this time of year's very good for igniting a spark." Thinking about getting serious was giving him some (gentle) chills. _Fuck_. "Speaking of, you and Idri...How did you all meet?"

"Well, I was working here in town at an animal shelter, and Idri is a local veterinarian. So, we got this cat with a wounded paw. I went with the poor little thing to see the vet and...the rest is history." Jeremy shrugged, "We're actually thinking of looking for a bigger place outside of the city, where we can raise some animals and tend to rescues."

Eliot nodded. He did remember Jeremy always loving animals--that was part of what made him duck out of the family. There wasn't any resentment though; Eliot knew that sometimes these things were unavoidable and he didn't exactly make himself available in the years to come either. "That's really cute. And that sounds like...such a good and rewarding thing to be doing, opening up your home like that. I hope you find somewhere well suited for it. We’ll have to visit, as long as we’re…" he trailed off, not even wanting to consider _that_ possibility, however strong it might have been. 

Jeremy leaned in to whisper to Eliot "Just be you. I know it is scary, but you won't regret it. I have a good feeling about that."

Eliot couldn't help a little blush, especially because as soon as Jeremy was done speaking, Quentin himself came back into the room. His eyes moved back to his brother, "Either way, uh, you've got to try some of this cheesecake that Julia made once you're back in town. I can come back for a weekend and we can, you know, really catch up."

Jeremy grinned and nodded. "Oh yes. We're definitely going to catch up, even if I have to fly you here myself," he grinned. "Besides, now you've got family in town, and..." He glanced at Quentin with a grin, chuckling at Quentin's blush, "other important reasons to visit."

"Hey, I get free flights and I'm here all the time. It won't take that much I promise." Eliot smiled, "But yeah, a lot of good reasons to visit, for sure."

Quentin piped up, "Well, maybe I can bring Teddy by when you're back. He loves Eliot to death, so I'm sure he'd love to meet you guys, and little Fen and Todd."

Idri chuckled as he entered the room, kissing Jeremy sweetly, "Darling we're going to have to get going soon."

Eliot sighed, "Anyway, we should probably head out too, we have to get things for the snowstorm. And, I bet Teddy would love that."

Jeremy smiled, hugging Eliot tightly, "Next time, you come too."

Eliot smiled and hugged him back, "Have an amazing time away. We'll see you again soon."


	12. Snowstorm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot experiences his first family-oriented snowstorm with Quentin and Teddy. Eliot also finds out about a surprising new development, and has mixed feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More smut toward the end of this chapter. Also we're getting to the finish line folks! 2 more chapters to go!

Quentin and Eliot left a few minutes later, leaving the happy family to their vacation. "So, how does it feel to have your brother back, eh?" Quentin grinned proudly, his arm around Eliot's shoulders.

"It feels really good. I'm really happy to see that he's happy too, he's always deserved it." Maybe him more than the rest of his family--excluding Eliot, or so he was beginning to think. Seeing Jeremy with Idri and his family made him feel like maybe...maybe there was a shot for him at happiness too. Eliot leaned into Quentin's shoulder, smiling gently, "Thank you for coming with me, I really appreciate it."

Quentin kissed Eliot's cheek. "I am glad that you let me be a part of this. So thank you," he whispered, thinking about the fact that things with Eliot had escalated quickly, and yet he felt good about it. Sure, there was still the lingering worry of betraying what he had once had with Penny, but now it was more that he wanted to live the way he hoped Penny would want. He knew Penny would want him to find love again.

They had gotten to the car and Eliot paused in front of it, hesitating just a bit before pulling Quentin into a hug.

Eliot had known what he was feeling from the start, but this...everything felt deliciously raw, but with emotion and it was in equal parts exciting and overwhelming. It was different now, but he couldn't have named why exactly. He smiled against Quentin's shoulder, sighing happily. "I should be thanking you. And we should be heading out. No time like the present to be grabbing sandwich bread."

Quentin giggled a little, hugging Eliot and kissing his cheek. "No need to thank me, what can I say...since you came into our lives things just feel..." Quentin blushed pink "Right?" He finished his thought, before he nodded. "Sandwich bread, and all sorts of other essentials. Plus s'more supplies," he grinned.

Eliot was about to say that, “ _yeah, things felt so much more lovely and right since meeting you too,”_ but he hesitated a moment too long and...well. There'd be time for that later. Already he was thinking about how to really confess his feelings and he was realizing that maybe he could do it in a romantic way--something more than in front of the car on a street in the middle of wherever. "S'more supplies, of course." He smiled and got into the passenger's seat, closing the door behind him. "Maybe more champagne too? Just in case we need to keep warm?"

"Ooh, that's a good idea, though I'm terrible at picking good alcohol, so I might need your expertise for that?" Quentin commented with a grin, kissing Eliot's cheek once he was in the driver's seat, heading toward a place he knew would have all the supplies they needed.

"Oh, I'm...I know my way around a bottle of wine," Eliot chuckled, "Margo and I used to host dinner parties and the drink portion was always my job." He smiled again at the kiss to his cheek, settling in and stroking gently over Quentin's arm.

They were quiet for most of the way there, the radio playing softly until they got to the store, "Do you have a list, or are we winging it?"

Quentin paused, then blushed bright red. "...The list is on the kitchen counter," he admitted with a slight giggle. "Sooooo I suppose we're winging it? It shouldn't be too hard, just getting essentials. Water, canned goods in case the power goes out, uhhh, s’more stuff, and we'll just grab things we see as we go?"

Eliot couldn't help a little smile, "Winging it sounds good, it'll be fun. Between all of us, we'll have all our bases covered." He reached to gently tuck a loose strand of Quentin's hair behind his ear, "Did you want to let Julia know that we're here?"

Quentin smiled softly, brushing a gentle kiss to Eliot's lips. The way that Quentin kept kissing him and being affectionate felt so right, like they'd been doing it for years. Eliot almost blushed at the thought, smiling as he got out of the car and keeping a loose hold on Quentin's hand--why not, right?

"Mmm, I'll text her once we get inside," he suggested, before he got out of the car, opening Eliot's door for him before they headed inside. He texted Julia and the two of them set out to get supplies in a store that was busier than Quentin expected.

Eliot noticed the store was busy as well, and made sure to stay close so Quentin would be comfortable. Eliot wanted to be a source of calm in the chaos, just as Quentin had been for him.

Quentin was grateful for it since, a little known fact, he got overwhelmed in crowded spaces. Penny had always been a grounding presence in that regard, and Eliot was...surprisingly comfortable in that role as well. Quentin found himself relaxed and the shopping went surprisingly quickly between the two of them.

Julia and Teddy met them at the store so that they had help loading things back into the car before the four of them headed back home to prepare for the storm. Julia needed to go back home to check on her dogs and prepare things at her place, but she wasn't leaving for another hour, so while Quentin was making sure his workshop was secured, Julia moved over to sit with Eliot. "I noticed Quentin wasn't overwhelmed at the store...he usually gets very anxious, you two make a pretty good team," she grinned knowingly.

Eliot moved over just a bit to give her some more room and smiled at her words, carefully pouring her a glass of champagne, "It was definitely a little busy in there. Stressful. I try not to add to it." He shrugged before taking a small sip of his own glass. "I have a couple of friends who aren't much for crowds, my brother too. I grew up learning how to be a good buffer. It makes me really happy to hear that I was at least somewhat effective," he smiled.

Julia smiled back at that. "Well, that's good at least. Quentin is...usually able to put on a brave face at least. He does struggle sometimes. I figured you should probably know that if you don’t already. Teddy tries to help, but sometimes...well, you know how it is. He's in therapy, and they have him sorted, but sometimes he just needs someone to lean on. I try to be that, but I think you're better suited."

"Yeah it's...different, for sure, I definitely know. I had a lot of my own stuff that--I had to spend a lot of time working through." He gave Julia a little smile, "At the risk of jumping the gun, I'm a sturdy force to lean on. Sisterly friends can be really important too though, I couldn't have gotten through my own shit if I didn't have Margo around. It's the same but different and if I can help take that pressure off of Teddy that'd be good too."

Julia smiled slightly. "Something tells me you help him in ways Teddy and I can't. There's this way he lights up around you, I haven't seen that in a long time." She shrugged a little bit, finishing off the remains of a cup of hot chocolate. "Even if you and Q remain friends and nothing more, which mind you I _doubt_ is all that will happen, you're good for him and I'm grateful for that."

Eliot could feel his heart lighten. He smiled broadly, "His smile is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I know that's beyond cheesy but..." He shrugged, sipping a bit more of his drink. "I'm glad that I can help him and that I'm good for him, it's been a really long time since I've last been referred to as a good influence. Quentin's really, really amazing and I must be doing something right, if I can be that obviously good for someone like him, you know?"

Julia nodded. "Damn right," she grinned, standing up after a moment. "I've gotta head out, check on my dogs, and make sure the pipes don't burst at home. If the snow gets shoveled out, I'll see you guys tomorrow in time for dinner."

"Gotcha," Eliot nodded--snow preparation was like a whole new world. He figured he should probably be doing stuff too. "Stay safe and warm, we'll be here with bells on. Maybe even literally." He smiled and hugged her gently and walked her out before looking for Quentin and seeing if anything else needed to be done.

Quentin smiled at Eliot as he entered the room. "Hey, I was just getting ready to start a fire in the fireplace. I figure we can make s'mores while we watch some older Christmas cartoons. Frosty the Snowman is Teddy's favorite."

Teddy then chimed in, "Oh! And Rudolph too!" He beamed excitedly.

The whole scene was so adorably domestic that Eliot almost needed to take a breath. He was so lucky. "That sounds like the perfect way to greet the snowstorm. And Christmas. What can I do to help?"

Quentin was moving the firewood around a little with a poker to stimulate the embers a bit. "Well, could you grab the marshmallows and stuff from the kitchen? Oh, actually, we're gonna need blankets. I figure we'd set up a little blanket area so we can cuddle and watch the movie."

"I can get the stuff from the kitchen, I'm not tall enough for the closet with the blankets though," Teddy commented.

"Perfect, Teddy and I can totally do that," he smiled, offering his hand to Teddy.

Eliot had Teddy show him where the closet was, grabbing as many blankets as he could carry before meeting the boy back in the kitchen. "Are you excited for the snow to come in?"

Teddy nodded, "Yeah! We always have fun during snowstorms like this. I know it can be scary sometimes, especially when the power goes out, but that doesn't happen often so it isn't too bad.” He beamed, getting the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate from the shopping bags.

"You know, I've never actually been in a snowstorm," he smiled, watching Teddy to make sure he didn't need any help. "So I'm glad I'm with a couple of experts who can have a good time."

Teddy beamed up at him excitedly, "We'll be the snowstorm buddies!" He grinned, setting the ingredients down off to the side.

"I love that. Snowstorm buddies, yes."

The young man seemed to not need any help carrying things, so Eliot smiled and led the way back to the other room where Quentin was working on the fire, "I wasn't sure which blankets so I just...grabbed all of them. "

Quentin grinned, "We'll make use of em. You did the right thing El." He commented fondly, moving back once the fire began to crackle. He then started helping Eliot get the blankets into a comfortable sort of nest.

Eliot smiled, also helping Quentin get everything set up. He looked at their handiwork and hummed softly, "I'm going to grab a few pillows, I think that'll really make it." He looked to Teddy, "You wanna give me a hand, snowstorm buddy?"

"Hell---HECK YEAH! Sorry Dad,” Teddy beamed, getting up and bouncing his way toward the place they kept the extra pillows.

Quentin chuckled, shaking his head. "He's super excited, and you're so good with him," he admitted fondly, kissing Eliot's cheek.

"Aww, thank you. It's easy when he's good too," Eliot smiled, gently rubbing Quentin's back before following Teddy. He helped Teddy with the pillows, carrying them back to their fortress.

"Alright I think we might have every pillow in the house which is good, because snowstorming, right?" Eliot smiled, dropping them before arranging them nicely so everything would be warm and cushy.

Quentin chuckled and nodded, helping them now that the fire and everything was ready. "Alright, time to put the movie on then. We're all set right?"

Teddy nodded, getting into position and getting all snuggly. "All good here!"

"I think so too," Eliot smiled, humming and hopping in the nest. It was so cozy, it felt so good to curl up in after such a busy day. He looked up at Quentin, "Did you want to do s'mores now or wait a bit? I can help if you want?"

"Let's wait a bit, and just relax for a few?" Quentin smiled, snuggling up against Eliot a little. He turned on the movie, so they could settle in and watch Frosty. Then they'd do s'mores while watching Rudolph. However, as Frosty played, Quentin couldn't help but feel...a bittersweet feeling. Eliot was kind of like Frosty, showing up, changing their lives forever...but all good things came to an end, he supposed.

"I love that idea," Eliot smiled, sighing happily as Quentin cuddled closer to him. Teddy was close by too, and Eliot was so relaxed and content he felt like he could fall asleep. He did his best to stay awake, not wanting to drift off and miss the snowstorm or Frosty or the feelings of love that came with being so snuggled.

Eliot looked over and caught Quentin looking a little wistful. Not wanting to scare Teddy, he just stroked Quentin's shoulder gently, giving him a soft smile.

Quentin looked to Eliot and smiled, leaning in a little to rest his head on Eliot's shoulder. The snowstorm started to kick up outside, but the power was still holding up, so Quentin didn't move from his spot. He didn't want to interrupt the peace of this moment: who knew how long this time with Eliot would last?

Eliot smiled a little, staying put with the duo and happily embracing the extra affection Quentin gave him. He could tell that his own feelings were getting exceedingly murky and complicated, and for maybe the first time since getting here, he felt like he could really appreciate the stillness. Eliot reached and gently stroked Quentin's hair.

Quentin smiled at that, leaning his chin against Eliot's shoulder, looking at him fondly. When the movie finished, he kissed Eliot's cheek.

Eliot kept watching the movie, watching on as it ended and feeling that....warm, fuzzy, post-cartoon feeling he'd only really experienced once or twice. He tried to recall, the story had seemed so familiar but he wasn't actually sure he'd ever really _seen_ Frosty. What a lovely first.

"Wanna help me with the s'mores while we get the next movie going?" Quentin shifted to make sure the fire didn't go out, hearing the wind from the snowstorm kicking up.

Quentin's question made him smile all the more-- _right_ , the s'mores, perfect. "Yes, I could definitely go for some s'mores right about now." He moved with Quentin, smiling and sitting close to him, "Marshmallows first?"

"Yup, I like to get the marshmallows a little crispy before putting ‘em on the graham crackers. Something about the texture is just super good." Quentin grinned, unwrapping the Hershey bars too, wanting to make sure they were on hand so they could melt them a little to make everything all gooey and delicious.

"Mm, me too. I went to my friends' bonfires a few times back in the day and always ended up burning them. Promise I'll be careful here," Obviously, Eliot didn't want to be a fire hazard. "There's nothing better than warm marshmallows and chocolate, it's amazing."

Quentin nodded, "Oh, I've burnt a few over the years. Sometimes they just don't roast right. Even now, I sometimes burn them." He chuckled. He put a marshmallow on a stick, passing one to Eliot and one for Teddy before taking his own to roast as well.

"I totally get it. No one's perfect," Eliot smiled, happily taking the marshmallow on the stick. He gave each of them a smile before carefully beginning to roast his marshmallow, hearing the sounds of Rudolph in the background.

Quentin, Teddy, and Eliot all enjoyed the s'mores, and it wasn't long until Teddy was starting to get tired after the long day and all the excitement. While Quentin was putting Teddy to bed, Eliot's phone rang with a FaceTime call.

"Well, don't you look cozy!" Margo grinned as Eliot answered the phone. "I have some news for you!"

"I am so cozy," Eliot smiled, snuggling in all the more for emphasis. "I'm so glad you called, I was just thinking about you and you come with that Bambi-sparkle in your eye. Dare I ask what's up?"

"Well, remember that promotion you applied for before you left? The "Liason of Tourist Affairs in Hawaii?" Looks like they're gonna offer you the gig as soon as you get back! You won't have to travel as much, you'll get to spend a ton of time in Hawaii, and you won't have to be on flights every week!" She grinned, "Though, that's if you still want the gig of course. How are things going over there? Looks like you won't be able to fly out until the day after Christmas if the weather reports I'm seeing are anything to go by."

_Holy shit._

_Holy shit, **holy shit.** _

Eliot had truthfully forgotten all about it between the excitement of the holiday and the sincere doubt that he'd _actually_ get it anyway. He was speechless for a second, blinking with his eyebrows raised like he could barely comprehend--and he _could_ only barely comprehend. But then, of course, his first thought was Quentin: Wanting to see him again, even _looking forward_ to the weekly flights all over. Right now, he was in New York at least once every two weeks even just for a night, and he could arrange his schedule and days off so they could spend more time together, but not if he was out in Hawaii.

She was hitting him with a lot at once, his brow furrowed, "The day after--oh yeah, it's a crazy snowstorm out there right now. And...I really…I really got it? Liason of Tourist Affairs," he repeated softly, running a hand through his hair. "Fuck, Bambi, I don't even--I mean that's amazing, that's like my dream job but I just..." He checked to make sure Quentin wasn't out of Teddy's room yet. “…things are happening here. And things are happening, uh, _here_." He patted his chest gently.

Margo listened to him and paused for a moment before she grinned, “Well, let me put it to you this way: I've never seen you happy like this, El. I think...maybe some promotions are worth passing on **, y** ou know?" She shrugged. "You've worked hard for that position, but I think now is the time to start thinking about what you _really_ want. Normally, I'd say fuck the feelings and take the job, but...somehow I feel like maybe the universe is giving you a very clear sign that you're where you need to be. Hell, you know that before Hoberman I was just like you, and then we met and I wanted to settle down a bit. Maybe this is your chance to settle too." She brushed some hair out of her face. "Think about it. You don't have to make a decision right this minute. But I will say, do what is best for you. I'll support you either way."

"God, why is this so hard?" _Couldn't he just have it all_? Eliot sighed--of course everything came with a price. Margo was _definitely_ making some good points and, despite it being unfamiliar, it was intense and not something so easily ignored.

Eliot sighed again, "I'll give it some thought, pros and cons list and everything. Another reason to be grateful for this snowstorm, I guess." He chuckled, "How's Hawaii? I hope you're not getting any of this weather."

"Hawaii is good, it'd be better with you and your dreamboat here," Margo teased him.

"What's this I hear about a dreamboat? Is she talking about me?" Quentin asked as he entered the room a moment later, grinning playfully as he leaned into frame. "Hi, I'm Quentin," he grinned.

"Oooh, he's cuuuute. Score for you, El," Margo teased.

Eliot opened his mouth to say something and then heard Quentin's voice, feeling him settle in close. Eliot couldn't help a smile, feeling the tips of his ears burning as he laughed, "I can't take you anywhere. Q, this is Margo, obviously."

Quentin chuckled softly, "Hi Margo, sorry for keeping your partner in crime for Christmas. Well, I should be sorry, but he's cute, so I'm really not."

Margo laughed softly. "Oooh, cute and funny; even better, El."

Eliot laughed softly, kissing Quentin on the temple, "Cute and funny knows when he's in cute and funny company." He leaned nice and close to Quentin, trying to keep his heart from beating too fast.

Quentin blushed lightly at the kiss to the temple, settling comfortably against Eliot. They chatted for about an hour before Margo had to get off the phone but, once they were _alone,_ Quentin kissed Eliot softly, nuzzling him a little. "Kiddo is asleep, so we can spend the rest of the evening having a bit of fun...if you want? Though there is something I wanted to mention," he commented, a little nervous

Eliot kissed him back, smiling at the attention and the notion of them being alone. "I'd love to. And I'd love to hear anything you have to say," he said, carefully running his fingers through Quentin's hair. Quentin seemed a little bit nervous and Eliot wanted to help.

Quentin melted into the attention, cupping Eliot's cheek and kissing him again. “I’ve been thinking. Earlier, and all day really. I--I know you have a life to go back to and everything," he started, trying to figure out how to say this without coming on too strong. "Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it because I'm really bad at this," he chuckled at his own idiocy a little: "I've not really opened myself up to anything since Penny passed away, but you're different. You make me feel things I’ve not felt in a long time, and I...I am pretty sure I'm falling in love with you, El. I don't really know how to move forward from here but I wanted you to know because...well, Teddy already likes you and I'm getting pretty damn attached myself. So even if you don't feel the same way, I want you to know that your brother isn't the only family you have here."

"Oh, shit.” Eliot whispered, "Quentin that's...fuck, that's amazing and I--to think that someone, as good as you could…” he couldn't even think straight, everything was just--so much. And yeah he was definitely, definitely in love with Quentin, but he was still worried that Quentin would see what he saw when he looked in the mirror.

_But **maybe**... _

"Fuck, okay," Eliot started, "I need to be honest with you. I think that I--I think that I feel the same way? I mean I've never felt this way about anyone and..." His eyes were welling with tears. _Fuck_. "Margo just told me that I got this promotion at work and I wouldn't--I'd be in Hawaii mostly and I could make it work if you wanted to, but you deserve...you deserve more. Someone who can be here all the time and not on a six hour time difference and I--I don't even know if I'm gonna take it but I can't keep it from you now that I know..."

Quentin listened, and then he smiled softly. "First off, congrats on the promotion. That's pretty amazing even if you choose not to take it." He took both of Eliot's hands in his own, kissing them gently. "Secondly, you don't have to decide right away. Think about it, weigh your options. I don't want you to choose me over something you really want. That just would lead to you resenting me later and I'm not about that whole thing."

Quentin brushed his lips against Eliot's gently. "I love you El, and if you decide you wanna take the promotion, we'll figure it out from there. It won't be easy, but we'll make it work. Either way, I want to spend as much time with you as I can because no one has made me feel even remotely close to the way you do, since Penny.”

"I feel like the world's biggest dick. I'm so sorry. But...thank you. I really, really appreciate that. All of it.” Eliot blushed deeply and smiled, the tears subsiding for now. "I could never resent you though, never ever. I just--yeah, I just want to take a breath and--figure out what's happening inside me and..." He sighed happily, "--it's been a very big day, I really don't want to do anything rash."

Eliot kissed Quentin back, smiling and overwhelmingly relieved that he understood and wanted to make this work. "You'd be worth all of the making it work, you and Teddy both. And yeah, I agree, I want every second between now and my flight to be dedicated to sugar and sweets and doting and touching," he smiled a little bit, a hand running to Quentin's neck as he kissed the other gently.

"Sweetheart, you're not the biggest dick. You do have a nice one though," Quentin grinned, kissing Eliot again lovingly. "Speaking of that...and of touching. Teddy is a heavy sleeper, so we won't have to worry about waking him up if we want to uh...y'know, fool around a little." Quentin smirked playfully, settling on Eliot's lap, kissing him again. "You've got me however you want me, El. I mean it. As long as you want." he purred, stroking his fingers through Eliot's curls, his lips moving to Eliot's jaw gently. He didn't have any hesitation anymore. No more doubts. If Eliot felt the same way, then he was going to lean into it.

Eliot kissed him again, beyond relieved that Quentin seemed to understand. All he wanted to do right now was make Quentin feel amazing. He was happy Quentin seemed to be on the same page. "I would love that, lots of touching, hm?" Eliot wrapped both arms around Quentin, keeping him close and kissing him back.

"You're so fucking good to me, Q," Eliot smiled, leaning into the touches to his hair. He moaned softly, rubbing over Quentin's back and letting his hips roll against the other's. "I want to be just as good to you tonight. Do we wanna take this to the bedroom?"

Quentin nodded. "Yeah, I'll have to come back out here and raid Santa's cookies and milk obviously, but after we have a few rounds, I'll have worked up an appetite anyway. We can share them," he teased playfully, kissing Eliot sweetly as he rocked his hips on Eliot's lap, slowly sliding off and taking Eliot's hands to lead him to the bedroom.

"Mm, I love post-sex milk and cookies," Eliot smirked, kissing Quentin back and happily taking his hand.

Eliot followed Quentin to the bedroom, kissing him deeply before hopping on the bed, "How do you want me, Q? You want me to--oh," Eliot smiled, closing his eyes, "I have something I want to show you, do you mind waiting a second?"

Quentin raised an eyebrow. "I can wait if you'd like? Want me to uh, freshen up in the bathroom to give you a sec to get ready? I still kinda have s'more breath anyway," He commented with a slight grin, nuzzling Eliot sweetly.

"Yes, that would be perfect. It'll only take a sec," Eliot smiled. He wasn't usually so cheesey but...he wanted this to be special. It was Christmas Eve. He hopped out of bed, kissing Quentin full on the lips, "I don't mind your s'more breath but whatever makes you feel sexy," he winked.

Quentin beamed, feeling lighter than air. There was something so...pure about the way Eliot made him feel. He kissed him tenderly before hopping into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Also deciding to spice things up a bit, unbuttoning his flannel shirt, and taking off his sweatpants so he was just in the tight boxer briefs.

Eliot went to his bag, digging through a little bit until he found what he was looking for--a stunning cobalt blue lingerie set that consisted mostly of lace straps, the biggest pieces of actual fabric being to contain his hardness as well as a diamond over his belly button that served as a point of intersection for the straps that twisted and turned around his body.

He checked himself in the mirror once he got it on, smiling and messing with his hair a bit before he heard Quentin and just about dove onto the bed and laid seductively, "I'm set for you whenever you're ready."

If Quentin wasn't hard before, the second he saw Eliot in the lingerie set he definitely was. "Wow, Merry Christmas to me! I didn't realize I'd been this good all year," Quentin grinned, forgetting that the boxer briefs he had put on when they got back were "Sexy Santa" themed--a gag gift from Julia a year or two before.

"Oh you've been so good all year, so good to me too," Eliot smirked, leaning back on the bed and teasingly running a hand over his lace-covered cock. He loved the way Quentin got all blushy.

Quentin approached the bed carefully, making sure not to trip as he crawled into bed and let his fingers roam over Eliot and through the lace. "You are so damn beautiful, El...I am a very lucky guy," he grinned.

Eliot moaned softly at the attention, eyes slipping closed, "I think I'm the lucky one." When he opened his eyes, they went to Quentin's adorable boxer-briefs and he couldn't help a soft little chuckle, "You know, I did almost get a sexy elf outfit to go with those, but...I really liked this color on my skin."

Quentin leaned in to kiss Eliot slowly, sucking lightly at his bottom lip. "Mmm, maybe next year we can get a matching set, hm?" He purred, his fingers continuing their exploration.

"I love that idea," Eliot gasped softly, leaning into the touches. He blushed a little at the praise, happy that Quentin liked it. It wasn't his only present—honestly he bought it not thinking he'd use it yet, and not thinking Quentin even liked him and he'd end up wearing it for someone at home--and he was so glad it was Quentin touching him, and Quentin _loving_ him.

"What a beautiful present for me though..." Quentin grinned, kissing along Eliot's throat slowly, working his way downward. "I really love the blue on you though. It suits you perfectly...brings out your eyes," he purred.

Eliot smiled, "Thank you. I have half a mind to get one for you. Red seems to be your color." Carefully he pulled Quentin's head up to kiss him deeply, pulling him still so Q was on top of him.

Quentin giggled slightly at the thought, "Mmm, I'd wear it for you babe," he purred, kissing back deeply. He pressed himself against Eliot, his hands moving so he could grab Eliot's ass and rubbing his clothed bulge against Eliot's carefully. "So, how do you wanna start, hm? I'm open to suggestions..."

"I really like you on top of me," Eliot moaned, smiling and kissing Quentin back. In the bedroom he was pretty versatile, but sometimes he did have a little bit of a submissive scratch to be itched. He moaned and leaned into the squeezes to his ass. "Would you feel comfortable fucking me? Or--I could hop on top of you and ride you so good if you wanted?"

"Mmm, I definitely want to fuck you baby," Quentin smirked, kissing him heatedly. "I've wanted to fuck you all day honestly. It was so hard to keep my hands to myself," he purred.

"You did a very good job keeping your hands to yourself. I did too. I think we both deserve a little reward for that, don't you?" Eliot smiled, kissing him again.

Quentin slid out of his boxers, stroking himself slowly, "Question is, do I fuck you hard into the mattress? Or take it slow and easy with you?"

Despite already having seen Quentin naked, Eliot couldn't help the way he instantly became breathless. "Oh, fuck, you could do both. Start out nice and slow and tease me and then when I can't take it anymore..." He chuckled low and in his throat before bucking his hips. Quentin gave him a smile and carefully coated his fingers in lube.

"Damn, have I mentioned I love the way you think? Because you've got a great fucking idea there," Quentin smirked, kissing Eliot heatedly before he eased a finger carefully into Eliot's hole, shifting the lingerie a little to make it easier.

"I might have been thinking about it, maybe a little too much," Eliot smiled, moaning into the kiss. He reached to play with Quentin's hair, smiling as the finger reached his hole. "I have snaps right behind my balls if this gets in the way too much."

Quentin nuzzled Eliot sweetly. "Good to know. I might have to undo it when we really get going," he chuckled. He carefully fingered Eliot open, taking his time so he wouldn't hurt him. He took note of each and every moan, deciding that he'd memorize how best Eliot liked to be touched.

"Heh, that's why I picked this one," Eliot winked, relaxing and spreading out under Quentin's touch. "Fuck, your hands feel so good on me, Q. Mmm, your pretty fingers are so nice inside me..."

Once he was sure Eliot was properly prepped, he kissed him softly, tugging lightly on his bottom lip. "You ready?"

Eliot could have done this forever but he was partly relieved when Quentin pulled him into a kiss and pulled his fingers out, knowing what was to come was going to be even better. "I'm so ready for you to fill me up."

Quentin undid the snap carefully, before he shifted so he settled comfortably between Eliot's legs. He kissed Eliot slowly, and teasingly as he eased his lubed hardness into him, filling him up inch by inch. "Ohhh fuck, so fucking good baby..." he moaned, pressing his forehead against Eliot's as he started a slow rhythm.

Eliot shuddered as he kissed Quentin back, wrapping his legs around him and moaning deeply at the feeling of being filled. It had been way too long (though not _five years_ long) and he was so happy they were each breaking their dry spells together. "You feel amazing," Eliot moaned, playing with Quentin's hair before kissing him slowly.

Quentin shuddered pleasantly, the feeling was even more intense than he remembered, or maybe that was just how his connection with Eliot turned out. "Mmm, I think that's my line," Quentin teased as he kissed Eliot, rocking his hips slowly, making gentle thrusts at first, wanting to take his time.

Again Eliot moaned, leaning into Quentin's hot body all over him. He couldn't help a chuckle at the little tease, kissing him deeply before speaking. "You're so good, I just wanna steal all your lines," Eliot smirked, eyes fluttering closed at the teasingly slow thrusts.

Quentin let out a breathless sort of giggle, kissing Eliot sweetly as his thrusts grew a little faster, wanting to give Eliot more. He was surprised at how good he was doing, since he was about five years out of practice. Maybe all that time spent learning to edge himself when he jerked off was worth it after all.

"Oh, Quentin," Eliot moaned, deepening their kiss and then moaning into it as Quentin started picking up the pace a little. He reached to lay affectionate little touches to Quentin's skin, over his neck and carefully through his hair, giving a gentle little tug.

Quentin groaned at the tugging of his hair, thrusting a little harder, looking at Eliot hungrily. "You're perfect, you know that?" He whispered, cupping Eliot's cheek as his other hand rested on Eliot's hip to steady him a bit.

Eliot moaned, breaking into a little smile. He drank in being looked at so lustfully, almost blushing at how good Quentin was being to him and his body. "You're perfect too, Quentin. Mm, I never want this to stop," he smiled again, moaning and tugging Quentin closer to kiss him deeply once more. "You fuck me so good, Q," Eliot was trying to keep his voice down, "your dick is so fucking good too..."

Quentin hummed happily. "Mmm, we'll get to do this plenty, so even when we're done tonight, we'll have so much more to look forward to," he promised, kissing Eliot again and fucking into him harder and deeper. "So fucking good...fuck, I'm all yours Eliot, as long as you want me," he promised.

A pang of guilt struck Eliot right in the chest but he swallowed it, refusing to think of anything that would spoil this. Life affairs could be sorted later, right now was about enjoying this moment, enjoying everything about Quentin, and doing everything in his power to make Quentin feel amazing. "I'm all yours too," Eliot moaned out, eyes glazed with lust as he looked up at the other, stroking his cheek again, "I'm starting to get close, Q..." Eliot let himself actually blush, moaning and smiling again.

"Me too, sweetheart. I'm getting close...you're doing so good though. Want to cum for me?" Quentin purred, kissing Eliot tenderly.

"You're doing so good too, _Quentin_..." Eliot moaned, biting his lip and nodding, "Hmm, I'd love to cum for you..."

"I love you, and even if this thing becomes a long-distance thing, we're gonna make it work," Quentin promised, pressing their foreheads together as he began thrusting faster.

Eliot only answered him with a broad smile and a long kiss, barely able to concentrate as Quentin started fucking him faster and harder.

Quentin didn't last too much longer, he stroked Eliot quickly, hoping to bring him off at the same time, as his toes curled and he came undone, crying out Eliot's name desperately.

"Oh, fuck, Quentin..." Eliot moaned quietly, blushing as he came all over Quentin's hand at the sound of Q's gorgeous, breathy voice. He panted hard to try and catch his breath, pulling the other into a hot kiss.

Quentin groaned into the kiss, meeting it with enthusiasm while he tangled his fingers in Eliot's curls, just letting the pleasure wash over them while they made out. "...That, was fucking incredible," he breathed, nuzzling Eliot softly and kissing him again, and again, unable to get enough.

"Yeah, fuck, that was amazing," Eliot said, smiling sleepily as they kissed and Quentin touched his hair in just the right way. He happily held Quentin tightly, rubbing over his back and sighing sweetly when they broke for air. "You know, I'm pretty sure I've never felt as sexy as I do now."

Quentin grinned a little bit. "Mmm, yeah? Well, I can honestly say, you are very sexy. Hell, you wore my clothes the other day and it took every ounce of control not to bend you over the kitchen table," he snickered.

"Oh that's really fucking hot. I probably would have let you," Eliot said, looking up at Quentin adoringly, "I can't believe how good you make me feel, you're so good at what you do. Spoiling me."

Eliot's words were enough to make Quentin blush again. He still hadn't gotten used to being treated so well. "Mmm, you make me feel really good too. I haven't had it this good in a long time. Hell, I didn't even have a restless night's sleep last night, which is an achievement in itself."

The confession made Eliot's expression melt into one of pure warmth, holding Quentin close and happily rubbing over his back, "I always sleep better when I'm not alone too. There's something about being next to someone that just...I don't know, but I get it. I felt that way last night too, like I could just relax." He smirked, stealing a gentle kiss, "Though that might have been because you ate me out so good, you have such a pretty mouth."

Quentin kissed back tenderly, before he gave a wicked grin. "Mmm, I might have to do that again later. Your ass is too good to pass up baby. As it is I could eat you out all day, I'd get spoiled if I got that opportunity," he teased.

"I love the way you eat me out, Q," Eliot smiled, kissing him gently, "I'd love to spoil you, honestly. It is the holidays after all. And...I really, really love the way you eat my ass, it feels so amazing." Eliot peppered Quentin's jaw and neck with gentle kisses, holding him close.

Quentin grinned lovingly, kissing Eliot softly in return, rubbing Eliot's back gently. He let his mind wander for a moment, to a domestic life with Eliot, their evenings bookended by deliciously hot sex, with occasional morning sex on days Teddy slept in or didn't have school. It would be bliss. He nuzzled Eliot gently, smiling adoringly "Mmm, I could really get used to this..." He whispered, feeling relaxed all over.

It sounded so sweet, such a change of pace from Eliot’s usual life but...so soft and lovely, a life here with Quentin and his craftsman's house and probably the most darling kid he'd ever met.

Eliot let out a content sigh, closing his eyes and absently kissing Quentin on the forehead. "Mhm, you fucked me so good I bet I'll sleep through the entire night even though it's Christmas Eve."

Quentin chuckled. "Mmm, we may have to find a way to stay awake at least long enough for me to go raid the cookies," he snickered playfully. He nuzzled Eliot, his fingers trailing along Eliot's skin gently. "What a great way to spend Christmas though," he whispered fondly.

"Yeah, this has been amazing. And I can think of a few good ways to stay awake if you need some assistance," Eliot smiled, closing his eyes and sighing into the touches. "What kind of cookies is Santa getting?"

Quentin grinned a little, kissing Eliot softly. "This year it is double chocolate chip. Teddy always likes to mix it up with different kinds. He says that if he was Santa, he'd get bored with the same type of cookie every year," he chuckled. "Which...is surprisingly practical." His hand slid gently along Eliot's side. "Santa gets to share this year though, which is nice," he added with a slight blush, feeling like a teenager all over again.

"He's such a smart boy," Eliot said, keeping Quentin close to him. The weight on top of him was actually really reassuring in its own way, and he was getting so sleepy and comfortable.

Eliot opened his eyes when Quentin spoke next, leaning to kiss him on the lips. "Sharing is caring, you know," he said, reaching to stroke through Quentin's hair. "Mhm, have I told you how cute your blush is?"

Quentin smiled sheepishly, nuzzling Eliot softly. "Mmm, is it?" He asked playfully, kissing Eliot tenderly again. "He is pretty smart. I'm proud as hell of him, though I just hope his smartness doesn't cause problems when he hits that rebellious teenage phase," Quentin chuckled softly, deepening the kiss a little.

Eliot kissed him back, smiling and reaching to gently play with Quentin's hair, "You're a good dad so you'll be fine. I promise, take it from someone who had a bad rebellious streak." He smiled almost sadly, kissing Quentin on the forehead, "Just be patient and make sure you're there for him when he needs it."

Quentin nodded, kissing Eliot sweetly. "Mmm, I was a bit of a rebel myself. Dad says I'd just be getting payback if Teddy winds up being rebellious," he chuckled a little, brushing a kiss against Eliot's lips again.

"Rebelliousness can be fun. Though...I think any acting out can be tempered with that cheesecake," Eliot smiled, kissing Quentin back. He sighed happily, "You've worked up an appetite, wanna go get some cookies?"

Quentin chuckled softly, kissing Eliot tenderly. "Cookies sound great actually. Come on, let's go raid Santa's stash," he grinned, kissing Eliot sweetly. After the cookies had been raided, they settled in to rest. Kids get up early on Christmas after all.


	13. Christmas Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas morning brings presents, and surprises to everyone in the Coldwater home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the Epilogue left folks!

Christmas morning felt a little bit like a fever dream; Eliot had never experienced anything like it. Teddy found a new Fillory book waiting under the tree, along with all sorts of other goodies that had excited the young boy greatly. The look of pure joy on Teddy's face when he opened all of his gifts and the laugh that bubbled out of Quentin when he opened his flight attendant Ken doll were just...surreal, unmatched, perfect, and beautiful.

It was making Eliot's Hawaii decision completely impossible. He was trying not to think about it, but everything made his heart tug.

Julia had dropped in toward the middle of the day after the snow had been shoveled out enough for her to pop in, and by dinner-time, everything had calmed down a bit.

While they were all settled in, drinking hot cocoa and sitting by the fire, Quentin stood carefully. "There's one last present I need to give out. It...took some time, but I think it is finally finished," he grinned excitedly.

"Oh?" Julia asked, a knowing grin in place.

"I'll be right back,” Quentin answered, leaving for the moment, and returning a few minutes later with a wrapped box with Eliot's name on it.

Eliot was distracted by his delicious hot chocolate when Quentin got up announcing another present. He thought for sure it was something for Teddy but when he came back, the box had Eliot's name on it. Eliot gave him a warm smile, thanking him softly before starting to open it.

The gift inside was a series of items. A carved flight attendant statue in Eliot's likeness, a picture Teddy drew of the three of them in Fillory, set in a handmade frame, and a few other items that Quentin had made, including a tree ornament. "This ornament might seem strange since today is Christmas day, but...I wanted something to commemorate this. You're part of our family now Eliot, whether you decide to stick around, or you go back, and come visit from time to time...you're family and we love you."

Right away, Eliot could feel himself tearing up but the ornament...that did him in. Quentin's explanation didn't help either and he nodded, sniffling and letting his tears fall, “Q, this is so beautiful, I...I don't even know how to thank you for everything you've done for me..." Eliot wiped his eyes, smiling and pulling Quentin close, squeezing him gently.

Quentin kissed the top of Eliot's head, holding him close. "You don't have to thank me. This is my way of repaying you for what you've done for me. We'll uh, call it even, yeah?" He grinned. "I know you've got a lot on your mind and I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, but you have a place here if you want it, El. Whether you decide now or a year from now."

Eliot only squeezed him tighter, trying to focus on deep breaths as Quentin spoke. He pulled back at the offer, smiling broadly at the other man, and tucking a few strands of Quentin's hair behind his ear. It was then that he knew what action he had to take, but he kept it to himself for now, "I can't put into words how much I truly appreciate that. Everything has been a dream, Q. I'm a little bit afraid I'm gonna wake up in Seattle," he snorted a little, leaning and kissing his cheek.

Quentin chuckled softly, "Well, you could always go find a Ted Coldwater if you wake up. He'll point ya our direction again," he teased playfully, kissing Eliot's cheek and wiping his tears away. "This has been a dream for me, too,” he admitted, giggling as Teddy tackled both of them in a hug.

Eliot chuckled, leaning into the touches and sighing out another big breath. He was about to say something when Teddy began hugging them both, which made Eliot laugh heartily and pull him close too. "I'm so glad it's not just me. And I'm so glad I get to have you in my life, all of you," he added, glancing around at Julia.

Quentin smiled softly at that, hearing Julia chuckle softly, "You say that now, just wait till Quentin is grumpy after a long repair."

Quentin rolled his eyes, "Oh I'm not that bad..."

"Yeah you are, Dad, we just don't say anything," Teddy answered with a grin

Eliot laughed softly, ruffling Teddy's hair, "I promise I'll always be patient and...I'm really good at massages, sometimes a back rub can make a world of difference." Gently, he kissed Quentin on the forehead, "Long flights can take a lot out of me, too. So all I ask is the same treatment when I'm fighting jet lag."

Quentin chuckled at that, "Well, those massages will definitely come in handy when my shoulder acts up, so I am definitely going to take you up on that. I also happen to be very good at foot rubs, which I've been told are great cures for jet lag."

Julia giggled a little. "He's right about that. His foot rubs are awesome."

Teddy had comfortably situated himself, cuddling with Eliot and Quentin as they all chatted.

"Shoulder pain is the worst. I'll take good care of you," Eliot smiled, letting Teddy curl close between them. Absently, Eliot rubbed over his back as he listened to Quentin's foot rub praise.

Eliot's smile only grew, "Sounds perfect, foot rubs are always good. I bet they're really, really good for jet lag. My lower back usually gets messed up too." Eliot had a feeling that Quentin could help him with a lot of knots in his body after a long flight.

Quentin nodded, "All that standing and walking around the plane, not to mention possible turbulence," he agreed. When he noticed Teddy yawning, he checked his watch. "We should probably start getting you ready for bed, kiddo, since we're gonna be seeing Eliot off to the airport in the morning."

Julia took that moment to interject. "I'll get Teddy ready for bed. You two just relax with some egg nog, hm?"

Eliot smiled again, taking Quentin's other hand as he announced Teddy's bedtime. Eliot gave Teddy a warm smile, pulling him into a gentle hug, "You'll want to get lots of rest. We've had a big day. Thank you, Julia." Eliot squeezed Quentin's hand gently, scooting just a little closer.

Teddy was a little reluctant, but with a bit of prodding he followed Julia to bed, insisting on two bedtime stories this time.

Quentin chuckled softly, shaking his head a little before shifting closer as his arms wrapped around Eliot gently. "I'm not ready for tomorrow," he admitted quietly.

Eliot leaned into the arm around him, his head resting close to Quentin's chest, "I actually...wanted to talk to you about that," he said, a hand moving to gently rest on Quentin's stomach. He took a deep breath, "I was wondering what you thought about me maybe staying here?"

Quentin smiled brightly "I mean, you won't have any complaints out of me," he grinned. "I've been dreading you leaving...I mean, you were the one who reminded me what it felt like to love and...be loved." Quentin blushed a bit. "So, being apart isn't something I'm fond of, I'd miss you way too much,” he admitted, his hand moving to rest on Eliot's side gently.

Eliot nodded, glad that Quentin seemed to be on the same page. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and this--this is the happiest I've been in a really long time. Maybe ever? And I don't want to be _thousands_ of miles away from you.” He smiled a little, kissing the top of Quentin's head. "I know everything about this happened really fast, I can find a place to stay in the city for a while if you want to take a non-holiday-sparkled beat and make sure that I'm...that _this_ is what you really want. It wouldn't be any trouble."

Quentin shook his head firmly. "No need for that. I'm already pretty damn sure about you," he grinned. "Honestly, before you came along, I was...happy-ish? I mean, like, I was raising Teddy, and Julia and I would hang out, but I was mostly faking it? or…’going through the motions’ is more apt," he explained. "I was following my therapy, and just doing what I felt like I needed to. Now though, I mean...I've smiled and laughed more since you've been here than I can remember in ages. Sure, it's fast, but who says there needs to be a time limit on these things?"

Eliot had never been loved like this, or even _wanted_ like this. He couldn't imagine what Quentin must have seen in him to say such kind things, and he was glad that he could bring that joy out of the other man. Eliot could think of no one more deserving. "That's everything I wanted. Making you happy and making you smile." He leaned and kissed Quentin on the forehead. "Sounds perfect. Your place honestly feels more like home to me than my apartment does. And now I won't have to rush off. Margo tipped me off on a tourist liaison position here and they won't want to start me until after the new year."

"A position here?! Really? That's amazing!" Quentin beamed, kissing Eliot tenderly and hugging him tightly. "I'll have to thank Margo for that next time you talk to her," he chuckled, nuzzling Eliot sweetly. "Honestly though, this place feels more like home with you here than it used to," he added. "I mean, Teddy and I like the place fine but it always felt like something was missing."

"Yeah, it's not totally a sure thing yet but...I'm feeling really hopeful. She's putting a good word in for me." Eliot smiled again, kissing him and holding him close. Everything about this just felt...right. "It feels like home to me too. I'm really glad that I can make it feel that good for you too," he smiled again, kissing Quentin on the top of the head. "Speaking of Teddy, how should we tell him?"

Quentin thought for a moment. "Well, we could play a trick on him and Julia and make ‘em think we overslept…,” he grinned wickedly before he shook his head. "Maybe we'll just surprise him in the morning? And explain everything? Well, the age-appropriate stuff at least."

Eliot laughed lightly, tempted by the idea of playing a trick but...making everyone pancakes instead sounded much sweeter. "It occurs to me that I haven't cooked for you yet. Tomorrow morning. Age-appropriate news over pancakes, though I'm pretty sure Julia's onto us."

"Oooh, Pancakes are a great idea." Quentin grinned before he snorted "Julia has always been too smart for me to hide much for very long. As it is I have to buy her birthday present months in advance and hide it somewhere so she doesn't figure it out," he chuckled.

Eliot smiled, "She seems very, very intuitive. I think she'll love Margo, she's kinda my Julia. I think she's known what her birthday presents are every year so...I try to do a dinner out somewhere she wouldn't expect or book, a spa day together, or a tarot reading or....something. So she can have a little surprise, you know?"

Quentin nodded, "Exactly! We've gotta keep those ladies on their toes...oh! Here's an idea: what if for their next birthdays, we swap. You plan Julia's and I plan Margo's? They'll never expect it," he grinned.

"I love that idea," Eliot said, resting against Quentin and taking a deep breath. It felt a little bit like he could breathe again, knowing that he could stay here and all would be well. He had no worries about convincing his airline to let him stay. He smiled, bringing Quentin's hand up to kiss it gently, "So--we've done the cookies, we've done the ice skating, the cocoa and the bundling up for the snow, the lights and the tree, presents…did we miss anything?"

Quentin smiled, "Well, we've not done the whole ‘smooching under the mistletoe’ thing...or the thing I'm sure most parents do after the kiddos go to bed, tuckered out from a long day of presents..." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively with a grin.

Eliot couldn't help a sultry little laugh, "You know, in our case, it doubles as a 'thank God I don't have to leave' celebration which, I think, makes it double the fun." He sighed happily, trying not to get too handsy, "This is the best Christmas I've ever had, and I would love to show you just how much I've enjoyed myself."

Quentin grinned at that, "Mmm, and the best part is we'll be having plenty more great Christmases like this." He leaned in, kissing Eliot with a bit more passion and helped him up so they could make their way to the bedroom. "I am eager to see what you have to show me, love, though there is one thing I need to do first," he commented once they made it to the bedroom, walking over to his nightstand, taking off the wedding ring he had been wearing on the opposite hand, and setting it in his nightstand. "I think it's time for a fresh start for us. So the wedding ring has a new home. It's probably time I stopped wearing it anyway," he admitted.

Eliot easily followed Quentin back to the bedroom, making himself comfortable on the bed. His eyes followed Quentin to the nightstand, watching as he removed his ring and held his breath as he put it down.

 _Wow_.

"I only want you to do this if you feel comfortable. You don't have anything to prove to me, Q," he breathed. "I'm totally behind a fresh start for you but there's no rush. I'll always--always be here, no matter how you feel about your ring," Eliot smiled a little bit, looking at him adoringly. "I want you to be happy and comfortable, always."

Quentin smiled softly, "I always thought it would feel weird to take it off but...it feels right." He moved to crawl onto the bed, peeling his shirt off before kissing Eliot softly. "Thank you for being patient with me though. You've been so good to me…” He let his fingers brush against Eliot's cheek, kissing him softly again.

"You've been perfect to me, Q," Eliot said softly, kissing him back as he leaned into Quentin's touch. A skilled hand went to the buttons on his own vest, undoing them before moving onto his shirt, sighing happily as he stripped from the waist up.

"You make that look so damn easy." Quentin chuckled softly as he helped him with the vest and the shirt, tossing them in the laundry basket. "I think I'd get stuck if I wore one of those. Though I'm sure you'd help me out of it." he teased.

"Oh trust me, you'll never have to worry about not being able to get out of your clothes," Eliot smiled, leaning to catch Quentin's lips. "Happy holidays, Q. I hope this is everything you've wanted and more."

Quentin wrapped his arms fully around Eliot, kissing him deeper. "This is more than I ever thought I'd have again. Happy Holidays, Eliot," he grinned, nuzzling him and letting his fingers curl in Eliot's hair as he deepened the kiss.

Eliot smiled into their kiss, shifting to straddle Quentin's lap. He did, after all, have one last present in mind.


	14. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Years comes, and the Coldwater family celebrates, tying it all together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know TECHNICALLY this was outside the prompt, but we couldn't just leave it at the end of the last chapter. Happy Holidays to everyone reading this!

The duo didn't leave each others' sight in the coming days. Eliot and Margo pulled all the strings they had to get Eliot working in New York successfully. He set aside some time in his schedule for the impending move. Now, all that was left to do was celebrate.

It was New Year's Eve, or at least New Year's _dusk_ , and Eliot, Quentin, and Teddy were walking around the city partly in wonder and partly to finish the preparations for Teddy’s birthday celebration that night. They were heading back to the car when Eliot noticed the store--the same store the kind stylist was at. He was just about to suggest they go in when he realized the store was completely different. It was now a cooking store that looked like it had been here a long time. "Wow, they move in fast," he murmured, looking into the big windows. "I was just here the other day and it was this beautiful little clothing boutique."

Quentin looked at the place and raised an eyebrow "You sure this was the place?" He asked Eliot, "I've passed this store a few times for deliveries, and I don't think I’ve seen a clothing store here...unless maybe it was a pop-up thing temporarily?"

Teddy looked at the store, his little face scrunching up as he thought. "Maybe Santa likes to pop up stores sometimes? To give his elves stuff to do after the presents are made?"

"The man I met--he didn't seem like an elf. But…maybe he was," Eliot trailed off, looking over the store. It was certainly the same location but even the inside looked different. The clothing store didn't look temporary, though. It looked like it'd been there for _years_ , and like it'd be there for years to come. "Really strange. The man, the stylist, he was sort of what helped me realize where I need to be. Here, with you. I just wish I could tell him that everything worked out."

"Well, considering the time of year, it sounds to me like a bit of Christmas magic was working for both of us." Quentin smiled fondly, kissing Eliot sweetly.

"Eeeew,” Teddy teased, grinning despite his words. His dad was happy, what could be better than that?

Later, Quentin would ask Eliot if he got the stylist's name. For now though, he was happy to ring in the New Year with his favorite people. The evening ended with a lovely New Year’s Eve kiss, and all was as it should be.


End file.
